Bengal CM likely to visit Sagar Island on Jan 5 to review preparations for annual Gangasagar Mela

Kolkata, Dec 24 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to visit Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district on January 5 to review preparations for the annual Gangasagar Mela, an official said on Wednesday.

During her visit, Banerjee will hold a preparatory meeting with the district administration and is scheduled to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for several development projects during the visit, he said.

The CM will also lay the foundation of a 4km bridge over the Muriganga river, he said.

The project, estimated to cost around Rs 17 crore, will be completed within four years.

"At the beginning of the new year, she will conduct an on-ground inspection to assess the final arrangements for the Gangasagar Mela. As per the tentative itinerary, she will arrive at the Sagar Island on January 5, chair a preparatory meeting with senior officials of South 24 Parganas district administration, and return to Kolkata on January 6," the bureaucrat told PTI.

The CM recently chaired a high-level meeting at state secretariat Nabanna to review the mela preparations.

The holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti will take place on January 14, while the Gangasagar Mela will begin on January 10 and continue till January 16. PTI SCH MNB