A pilgrimage meets climate change on an island
On January 12, several Ministers of the West Bengal government gathered at a conference room on Sagar Island, situated at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal — the southernmost tip of the State — to brief mediapersons on the arrangements for the Gangasagar Mela 2025. Lakhs of pilgrims visit the island every year to participate in the religious fair and take a dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the sea on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on January 14. The site is considered sacred and is home to the Kapil Muni temple.
Aroop Biswas, the seniormost among the Ministers, who holds the Power, Housing, and Sports and Youth Affairs portfolios, quipped that an old Bengali saying has changed with the times. “‘Sab tirtha baar baar, Gangasagar ek baar (Visit all places of pilgrimage again and again...