Gangasagar Mela: Coast Guard rescues 511 pilgrims stranded at sea in two ferries

The Indian Coast Guard rescued about 511 pilgrims of Gangasagar Mela stranded at sea in two different ferries off Kakdwip in West Bengal on MondayTwo passenger ferries carrying 500600 pilgrims from Gangasagar were stranded in the sea due to fog and low tide since last nightAccording to the official statement Coast Guard District Headquarters No 8 Haldia was intimated by District Magistrate South 24 Parganas about the grounding of two ferries at sea near Kakdwip at 915 am on Monday The ferry vessels namely MV Lcchamati and MV Agramati were ferrying about 600 pilgrims from Gangasagar Mela at Sagar Island to KakdwipUpon receipt of the information the operations team of the Coast Guard swung into action and immediately dispatched two Air Cushion Vehicles Hovercraft from Haldia and Frazerganj to provide rescue assistanceThe Air Cushion Vehicles arrived at the incident site at about 945 am and post assessing the onscene situation an evacuation plan was finalized Simultaneously a Coast Guard Team also went to the stranded vessels to pacify the people thereafter the personnel were briefed about the evacuation planAlso read West Bengal facing discrimination over MGNREGA fund disbursement Mamata BanerjeeThe hovercrafts started evacuating people at about 10 am to the nearest point at Kakdwip The hovercrafts completed evacuating all the 511 pilgrims onboard both ferries by 1 pmThe Indian Coast Guard during the annual Gangasagar Mela which was held from January 816 deployed seaborne units at various strategic locations to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims during the MelaTwo Hovercrafts carried out extensive shallow water patrol to provide safety and security cover round the clock Besides this seaward surveillance was also undertaken by Coast Guard aircraft and shipsSince the Gangasagar Mela commenced a rapid lifesaving action team of divers with Gemini boat was also positioned at the Mela site to ensure the safety of pilgrims during the holy bath in the seariver confluence Additionally an Indian Coast Guard team headed by one officer from Coast Guard Station Frazerganj was positioned at Sagar Island for coordination with the State administration and to supervise seafront safety and security aspectsThe Gangasagar Mela takes place at West Bengals Sagar Island during Makar Sankranti every yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever