Gangasagar (South 24 Parganas): The much-anticipated Gangasagar Setu project is set to be launched with chief minister Mamata Banerjee scheduled to visit Gangasagar on Monday and lay the foundation of the bridge.
The structure will not only improve connectivity by linking Kakdwip with Kachuberia, Sagar Island, but will also give a boost to the tourism potential and socio-economic strata of the area.
Last-minute preparations have been on for the CM's visit and the subsequent Gangasagar Mela 2026, which is to take place from Jan 8. The CM is to reach Sagar Island by helicopter on Monday afternoon, after which she will take part in a distribution programme on the ground adjacent to the helipad. The CM will then lay the foundation of the Gangasagar Setu and inaugurate a number of other projects associated with the development of Sagar Island.
Gangasagar Setu will be a four-lane bridge and will be built over the Muriganga river, connecting Kakdwip on the mainland to Kachuberia on Sagar Island. The estimated cost for the project has been pegged at Rs 1,670 crore.
It was during the foundation-laying of Durgangan in New Town last month that the CM said that Rs 1,700 crore was allocated for setting up Gangasagar Setu, and that the concrete bridge was expected to be completed in the next two years. The tender for the project matured and Larsen & Toubro bagged it, the CM said.
Banerjee is also expected to visit Bharat Sevashram Sangha and may offer prayers at Kapil Muni temple. She is expected to return on Tuesday.
Govt officials said that transportation to and from Gangasagar Mela was now heavily dependent on ferry services, which got burdened with overcrowding and long waiting hours during the mela. Once Gangasagar Setu comes up, it will significantly improve access to Sagar Island for pilgrims and will also boost tourism and the local economy by improving trading access and transportation for agricultural and industrial products, as well as creating opportunities to develop a river port in future, officials said.
Meanwhile, the South 24 Parganas district administration is preparing for Gangasagar Mela, expecting a record turnout of pilgrims this time.
Officials said infrastructural facilities, including arrangements for drinking water, toilets, and waste management facilities, were being augmented, and that the number of sheds and hangars for lodging of pilgrims was being increased.
"The state govt has been aspiring to give Gangasagar Mela a national status like that of Kumbh Mela," a govt official said.