KOLKATA: The Calcutta Excessive Courtroom on Wednesday allowed the Gangasagar Mela to be held this yr whereas laying emphasis on the necessity for ‘e-snan’ (e-bathing) to keep away from crowding for the holy dip on the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice T B N Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee requested the West Bengal authorities to offer ‘e-snan’ package a small container with the holy water of Gangasagar – to pilgrims on the honest web site in Sagar Island without cost and for a nominal charge to individuals who order for it from different locations.
The state administration already introduced that such an association have been made. The state authorities knowledgeable the court docket that the variety of pilgrims who’ve arrived this yr is way lower than that in different years.
It instructed the division bench that each one well being protocols are being maintained within the honest which attracts lakhs of pilgrims yearly.
In a report back to the excessive court docket, the state’s Director of Well being Providers (DHS) stated that the chance of COVID-19 transmission by way of bathing in flowing water like a river or saline water in a sea is extraordinarily low.
“Nevertheless, as a measure of ample precaution, pilgrims are allowed to go for a dip in a staggered method sustaining secure distance between each other,” the DHS stated within the report.
The Calcutta Excessive Courtroom on January 8 directed the West Bengal authorities to file on Wednesday a report on the preparations made for organising the Gangasagar Mela, primarily based on which it should resolve whether or not or to not permit the annual honest this yr within the view of the pandemic scenario.
