(Eds: Adds details)Sagar Island (WB), Jan 14 (PTI) Around 20 lakh devoteesfrom across the country and neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan andBangladesh today took a holy dip at the confluence of theGanga and the Bay of Bengal in West Bengal's South 24 Parganasdistrict on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
"So far around 20 lakh devotees have taken a dip in theholy water here. Everything went smoothly and there is noreport of any untoward incident," South 24 Parganas DistrictMagistrate Y Ratnakara Rao told PTI.
With prayers on their lips, the devotees jostled forspace since early hours to take a dip in the holy water atGanga Sagar, also known as 'Sagardwip'.
Every year, on Makar Sankranti day, an ocean of pilgrimsgather here to take a dip at the confluence of the Ganga andthe Bay of Bengal and offer prayers in the Kapil Muni Temple.
A woman was killed and eight others injured when the busin which they were travelling to Sagar Island met with anaccident near Kachuberia, Rao said.
Sugiya Devi (65), a resident of Jharkhand's Palamudistrict, was injured in the accident and rushed to a nearbyhospital, where she was declared brought dead, the DM said.
A blanket of heavy security cover has been thrown in thearea. The state government has deployed over 3,000 policemenand pressed into service seven drones to for safety ofpilgrims.
"I have come here for the first time for the holy snan(dip). All arrangements have been done keeping in mind comfortof the pilgrims," Satish Tiwary, a devotee from Maharashtra'sYavatmal, said.
"We are coming to Ganga Sagar for the last 20 years andour experience this year was the best. Starting from securityarrangements, accommodations, transport and guidance of thestate administration and private agencies were simplyunparallelled," Ashutosh Diwedi, who visited the Island forthe holy dip, said.
The state government has given satellite phones to itsofficials to ensure uninterrupted connectivity during theMela.
The administration has also installed 500 CCTV camerasalong the over 100 km route from Babughat in Kolkata to theSagar Island.
The government has come up with an innovative SagarSanjog Scheme for providing real-time information regardingtransport facilities for pilgrims.
The disaster management department has made arrangementsto get live feed from the mela area to help effectivelymonitor the proceedings there.
As part of security arrangements, the state has alsointroduced a real-time monitoring system — the Tirtha Sathi.
Besides, 60 giant LED screens have been placed atdifferent points through which pilgrims would be updated aboutthe timings and tariffs of trains, buses and ferries, tidetimings as well as safety precautions.
"This information will be provided in three languages— Bengali, Hindi and English — to facilitate the largestnumber of pilgrims," he said.
Two battalions of the NDRF have been deployed at GangaSagar to mitigate any eventuality during the Mela.
In addition, the Coast Guard and the marine police havebeen deployed at the Sagar Island.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said thatstarting this year, the West Bengal government would celebrateMakar Sankranti as 'Lok Sanskriti Dibas' to promote folkartistes of the state.
She extended her greetings to the people on the occasionof Makar Sankranti.
"Wishing everyone the best on the occasion of MakarSankranti. From this year, we will be celebrating this day asLok Sanskriti Dibas in #Bengal to promote the folk artistes ofour State," Banerjee wrote on Twitter. PTI SCH RGGVS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.