Lost in Gangasagar
Volunteer at Bajrang Parishad camp registering the whereabouts of the devotees separated from their family members. The old illiterate women most of the time are unable to disclose their blocks, districts and states except their village names!
Each fair (mela) and carnival has its own secrets!
Gangasagar pilgrimage is extremely tough for villagers coming from other states of India. Most of the pilgrims hailed from states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Odisha; there were also a good number of them from Assam and Tripura, besides the home state Bengal.
Each year pilgrims were lost/ separated from their family members at the mela ground. In this year (2015) alone, around 1.5 million people visited Gangasagar and, there have been 64 cases of pilgrims who were separated from their families and could not be reunited. However, 2,000 others who were lost at the carnival were able to find their friends and families with the help of the government and voluntary organisations.
It is very sad to say that those who get lost in the mela ground happen to be the elderly women hailing from remote villages. It could be true that Gangasagar mela is considered a convenient place to get rid of the elderly and the ailing, who have become a burden to their family. Helpless, bewildered people, wandering around without knowing who to turn to, is a common sight here.
Those who get lost are taken to the camp of the Bajrang Parishad, a non-government organisation (NGO) with 150 dedicated volunteers which works with the district administration to help lost people get back to their families. They have been successful in reuniting most of the people. The 64 pilgrims who are still missing are being brought to Kolkata and from here Bajrang Parishad will try to reunite them with their families with the help of different state and district administrations.
Bajrang Parishad
201/B, M.G. Road, Kolkata-700007, India
Prem Nath Dubey, Suresh Kumar Agarwal
(0091 33) 2268-3301
(0091) 9339730015
(0091) 9830111055
Read Full Story: www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/gangasagar-mela...
Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair, held annually, is the second largest congregation of mankind (more than 1.5 million this year) after the holy Kumbha Mela.
Images of Bengal, India
Lost in Gangasagar
Volunteer at Bajrang Parishad camp registering the whereabouts of the devotees separated from their family members. The old illiterate women most of the time are unable to disclose their blocks, districts and states except their village names!
Each fair (mela) and carnival has its own secrets!
Gangasagar pilgrimage is extremely tough for villagers coming from other states of India. Most of the pilgrims hailed from states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Odisha; there were also a good number of them from Assam and Tripura, besides the home state Bengal.
Each year pilgrims were lost/ separated from their family members at the mela ground. In this year (2015) alone, around 1.5 million people visited Gangasagar and, there have been 64 cases of pilgrims who were separated from their families and could not be reunited. However, 2,000 others who were lost at the carnival were able to find their friends and families with the help of the government and voluntary organisations.
It is very sad to say that those who get lost in the mela ground happen to be the elderly women hailing from remote villages. It could be true that Gangasagar mela is considered a convenient place to get rid of the elderly and the ailing, who have become a burden to their family. Helpless, bewildered people, wandering around without knowing who to turn to, is a common sight here.
Those who get lost are taken to the camp of the Bajrang Parishad, a non-government organisation (NGO) with 150 dedicated volunteers which works with the district administration to help lost people get back to their families. They have been successful in reuniting most of the people. The 64 pilgrims who are still missing are being brought to Kolkata and from here Bajrang Parishad will try to reunite them with their families with the help of different state and district administrations.
Bajrang Parishad
201/B, M.G. Road, Kolkata-700007, India
Prem Nath Dubey, Suresh Kumar Agarwal
(0091 33) 2268-3301
(0091) 9339730015
(0091) 9830111055
Read Full Story: www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/gangasagar-mela...
Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair, held annually, is the second largest congregation of mankind (more than 1.5 million this year) after the holy Kumbha Mela.
Images of Bengal, India