Introduction:

It is stated that according to Indian Cultural heritage one has to visit various tirtha or pilgrim canter to earn virtue. Gangasagar is one of such famous pilgrim center where people criss-cross of the country being attracted and come to earn virtue. There is a proverb “Sab tirtha bar bar Gangasagar ek bar”-which means by taking holy dip only once in life a person earns that muich of virtue which one can earn by visiting all the pilgrim centers throughout the life. This proverb signifies the importance of Gangasagar as a place of religious importance and ultimately it has got a position in the tourist map of India and thought as a place of religious tourism.

This year Gangasagar Mela is “ Clean Gangasagar Mela- 2019 ”. That is our (Government of west Bengal & All N.G.O. Organisation) mission (“Clean Gangasagar Mela”) in this year Gangasagar Mela-2019. We are promise to all of you that this year Gangasagar Mela Ground we do clean as per as possible. we are heart & sol try to it. And you know we are almost success in this mission.

Gangasagar Island:

Gangasagar is a place situated in the Sagar Island which is again located in the extreme south of Sundarban of the South 24 Parganas in the Diamond Harbour Sub-division. It is locatedbetween 21036’ to 21056’ north latitude and 8802’ to 88011’ east latitude The island is surrounded by the Bartola or Muriganga river in the north and east, Hooghly river is flowing in the west and in the south by Bay of Bengal. Its area is approximately 224.3 sq.miles In Purana, Sagar Island is called as Patal. In Bengal it is known as Sagar dwip and it is the largest dwip (island)in the Bay of Bengal which encircles the island at its southern side. In the Sagar Island there are at least 44 villages of which Gangasagar is the largest one (Majumdar, 1971; Saha, 1999).

Mythological Importance of Ganga Sagar Mela

The place is primarily important for its temple of the great saint Kapil Muni who according to myth was Vishnu, had taken birth as per the wish of Kardam muni as his son. Kapil Muni-one of the great saint of Hindu religious mythology. Kapil Muni’s hermitage was present at the place of the present day Gangasagar. His mythological story is related with the bringing of Ganga – the sacred river, in this place. In the
myth it is told that once during his religious austerity King Sagar’s (the King of Ikshashu Vansh of Ayodhya) 60000 sons came down to the
place of his hermitage in search of their father’s sacrificial horse and found it there at that place.

The Gangasagar fair begins a couple of day early and ends on the day after Sankranti. Hindu pilgrims fromIndia and around the world arrive at Sagar Island to take a holy dip in sacred waters of Ganga River before She merges in the Bay of Bengal. Thousands of Hindus take holy dip at the auspicious time on Makar Sankranti day morning and offer prayers to Lord Surya (sun god). The holy dip is believed to wash the sins away and lead to the attainment of Moksha. After performing Ganga Snan, pilgrims visit the Kapilmuni Templesituated nearby. This is an ancient temple and is one of its kind inIndia. Devotees start to arrive in the first week of January and the venue attracts maximum pilgrims on the Makar Sankranti day. Accommodation for pilgrims is provided on the transit camps set up on Sagar Island.

Places of interest in and around Sagar

• Kapil Muni temple at South Sagar.
• Fairgrounds at South Sagar.
• Sea beach at South Sagar.
• Sagar Marine Park at South Sagar.
• Sagar Lighthouse and Port at Beguakhali.
• Ramkrisna Mission Ashram.
• Sushama Devichowdhurani Marine Biological Research Institute. (SDMBRI) at Bamankhali.
• Chimaguri Mudflat- It is the entry point to the Mangrove Forest.
• Wind Mills- The Island gets its electricity from the wind energy.