DR. AVINANDAN MONDAL Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in this public interest petition is seeking various directions to restrict and regulate gathering of pilgrims, sadhus and tourists in Gangasagar Island during the Makar Sankranti period.

(2.) The plea of the petitioner is that between 8th of January to 16/01/2022 large congregation of pilgrims from all parts of the country will gather in Gangasagar Island to take a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti which will be in the form of a Mela, namely, Gangasagar Mela. On this occasion thousands of pilgrims gather to take a holy dip when the sun rises on the day of Makar Sankranti at the confluence of river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer prayer in the Kapil Muni Temple. Even sadhus from hill top of Himalayas assemble at the island. To facilitate the movement of pilgrims the State Government erects pandals near Babu Ghat and at other convenient places at Kolkata which become a sort of exhibition grounds. It is disclosed in the petition that on 14th of January, 2018, about 18.2 million people had visited Gangasagar in 2018 as against 1.5 million in 2017. Having regard to the large scale spread of COVID-19 virus especially Omicron variant which is highly contagious, a prayer has been made to restrict the Mela.

(3.) This Court on 05/01/2022, having regard to the respective submissions of Counsel for the parties and taking into account the severity of spread of COVID virus in the State, had issued following directions: