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A PIL was filed before the Calcutta High Court on Monday seeking cancellation of this year’s Gangasagar Mela in Bengal amid the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases.
The petitioner is Dr. Abhinandan Mondal who is a doctor by profession, claimed that the infection may spread further as around 30 lakh pilgrims visit the religious fair at Sagar Island every year.

The Mela is scheduled to take place from 8-16 January.
“Given the spurt of infection, the fair almost certainly would pose a major public health crisis against which the state has already sounded its alarm bell. We are most concerned about the holy bath during the Mela which would be a sure shot recipe for the spread of the disease. Even if 10 per cent of the pilgrims get the virus, the number would be as high as 3 lakh from a single fair," said Suryaneel Das, advocate for the petitioner according to News18 reports.
“Even if there are measures to test the pilgrims at the fair ground, there is no way to monitor their health from the point of origin of their journey till they reach Gangasagar. The sheer number of people who are expected to arrive could mean that the infection would spread beyond all manageable proportions even before they reach the fair ground," Das added.

The matter is listed to be heard tomorrow, 5th January, 2022.