Lakhs take holy dip in Gangasagar till Saturday

Lakhs of pilgrims took their holy dip at Gangasagar here till Saturday afternoon on the occasion of Makar Sankranti with a section of them ignoring the COVID-19 safety protocol.The time for the holy dip lasted from early hours of morning till 12.30 pm on Saturday afternoon and devotees and sadhus were seen flashing the V sign after taking the holy bath. A middle aged pilgrim from Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh was airlifted from the fair ground after a sudden cardiac arrest.

Lakhs of pilgrims took their holy dip at Gangasagar here till Saturday afternoon on the occasion of Makar Sankranti with a section of them ignoring the COVID-19 safety protocol.

The time for the holy dip lasted from early hours of morning till 12.30 pm on Saturday afternoon and devotees and sadhus were seen flashing the V sign after taking the holy bath. A middle aged pilgrim from Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh was airlifted from the fair ground after a sudden cardiac arrest. West Bengal Power minister Arup Biswas, who is camping at the spot since Wednesday, told reporters that the total number of pilgrims having taken the holy dip on Friday and Saturday could not be ascertained. However, a South 24 Parganas district official told PTI the total number would be 25 per cent of the 15.5 lakh turnout in the two days of Makar Sankranti last year.

Biswas, who took part in sweeping the beach adjoining the confluence of the Ganga and Bay of Bengal after the holy dip was over by 12:30 pm on Saturday, said 2.88.960 pilgrims took part in e The devotees and sadhus flashed the V sign after taking the holy bath.e-snan from across the world while 1.19 lakh offered e-puja at the Kapil Muni temple.

A district official said the majority of the pilgrims were from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha and only the fully vaccinated and tested negative for COVID-19 were allowed to enter Sagar Island to attend the Mela.

Several pilgrims were seen without masks even though officers and volunteers kept cajoling them to abide by social distancing norms and to wear masks.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)