Tag: Sagar Island

mamata banerjee sagar island

Mamata brings ‘toilets for all’ plan to the Sunderbans

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After making Nadia the first ‘open defecation free’ district in the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is all set to implement the Sabar Shouchagar (toilets for all) model in the Sunderbans, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The Sunderbans, a tourist hub, has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO for its rich biodiversity and is a home to the famed Royal Bengal Tiger.

Located in South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal, it is a vast area covering 4,262 sq km including a mangrove cover of 2,125 sq km in India alone, with a larger portion in Bangladesh.

The district administration of Kolkata’s adjoining South 24-Parganas has embarked upon the project by selecting 13 out of 29 blocks for the cleanliness drive.

“We have selected 13 inaccessible rural blocks of the Sunderbans region to transform them into open defecation free areas. Slowly, we will also work in other 16 blocks,” South 24-Parganas district magistrate said.

“We have also decided to make Sagar Island an open defecation free area by January, before the Ganga Sagar Mela. In 2007, when I was an additional district magistrate here I had thought of implementing it. This time, we have been able to do that successfully,” the district magistrate said.

He further said that this time the Sagar mela (to be held early next year) will be a completely plastic-free zone as well.

“Understanding the importance of eliminating open defecation, we had decided to accord highest priority to sanitation. We built about 3,55,609 toilets in Nadia over a period of time”, said Salim.

The district leadership of Nadia also took a collective decision on October 2, 2013 and launched an innovative Sabar Shouchagar movement.

The district ensured 100 percent sanitation coverage by March 2015. Later, the model was taken up by the state government for implementation in each and every district.

 

Published on Daily Mail dated 28 September 2015

management

Effective management of Gangasagar Mela: Bengal sets an example for mass congregations

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More than 10 lakh people have visited Gangasagar this time since the annual congregation commenced on 12 January, the South 24-Parganas district administration reported.

Elaborate security arrangement

The State administration had made elaborate security arrangements for the mela. More than 30 CCTV cameras were installed and a similar number of watchtowers erected in and around the Kapil Muni temple on the island’s bank.

Deployment of 6,500 policemen was made along with coast guards, BSF and Navy personnel to ensure adequate security of the area. Security forces in the sea were equipped with hovercraft and small aircraft.

West Bengal Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee along with Power Minister Manish Gupta, Sunderban Affairs minister Manturam Pakhira and Minister of State for Minority Affairs Giasuddin Mollah and the Zilla Sabhadipati, District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police and other top officials of South 24 Parganas, were present to monitor the situation.

Record turnout

Most of the pilgrims hailed from states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jhargkhand, Chhatisgarh and Odisha; there were also a good number of them from Assam and Tripura, besides the home state Bengal.

For the pilgrims there were temporary sheds at Sagar Mela ground where they could take rest. Arrangement of temporary toilets and cooking was made without compromising on the cleanliness of the mela ground. There was adequate arrangement for electricity.

 

Photo credit: Debojyoti Chakraborty

Alternative livelihood mission for villagers in Sagar Islands

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State Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Mr Subrata Mukherjee has inaugurated a project of alternative livelihood for the people of most backward villages of Sagar Island.

Mr Mukherjee said a large number of people used to depend on hunting turtles, not only endangering those species but also risked their owned lives in doing so. People died of attacks by crocodiles and small sharks, he said.

Local people will be engaged in prawn and other fishes’ egg breeding units in several villages as alternative livelihood, he said.

Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) has taken up initiative for providing all arrangements to set up the infrastructure for prawn and other fishes’ egg breeding units. Villagers from Mahendraganj, Nagendraganj, Khasramkar, Uttarharadhanpur, Kayalpara, Dhaspara, Krishnanagar and Chalkfuldubi, will join this project.

Swami Biswatmananda, general secretary of the BSS said that a 5000 square feet place has been identified for setting up a skill development centre for local people.

He said around 2700 people will be trained in fish breeding, in agriculture farming, making organic manure and handicrafts items.

Mr Mukherjee said that the state government will provide all kind of help to BSS if these projects are implemented in other villages.

mamata banerjee sagar island

Gangasagar Mela – WB Govt takes measures for benefit of pilgrims

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The Gangasagar Mela, held on Sagar Island, is the biggest religious fair in West Bengal. Ms Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, to promote tourism, had undertaken a boat ride to Sagar Island with top industrialists last October.

The Government has laid emphasis on electrification, drainage, sewerage, water purification, sewerage treatment, night shelters, roads (construction of a ring road) and general beautification. For this purpose, the Gangasagar Development Authority has been set up.

Government has also made several arrangements for the annual Gangasagar Mela:

  • Various arrangements of temporary nature for adequate accommodation, offices, water supply, sanitation
  • Temporary hospitals along with outdoor dispensary at Sagar island along with emergency helicopter services
  • Safe and adequate drinking water services are being provided
  • Temporary sanitary (mobile toilets) and waste water disposal arrangements
  • Arrangements for fire-fighting, including setting up facilities at Kolkata’s Outram Ghat, Kachuberia, Chemaguri/Benuban and Sagar Mela ground
  • Arrangements for bathing ghats (including changing rooms) at Sagar Island
  • Arrangement of temporary banking facility at Sagar Mela ground
  • Police outposts at Sagar Mela ground
  • Solid waste collection by automatic disposal vehicle
  • As a special initiative, the Chief Minister has waived pilgrims’ tax

 

West Bengal Tourism is also promoting Gangasagar and its surrounding islands in a big way. For details log on to  the website.