Mass Awareness Campaign in Gangasagar Mela

Kapil Muni Temple

Gangasagar Mela is one of the mega religious congregations in India that happen every year in Sagar Island, located in the state of West Bengal. Government of West Bengal plays a cardinal role in the successful fructification of the Gangasagar Mela each year where teeming millions assemble in banks of “Gangasagar” especially on Makarsankranti ( 14^th January, 2014) to attain divine salvation.

Mass awareness campaign with members of NGOs and CBOs

It can be stated that despite the best of the services rendered by district administration in close coordination with the aid of the NGOs but more to be done from the perspective of coastal environment while keeping in mind the behavioural dynamics of the multitude that gathers from the remotest corners of the country in and around the Gangasagar Mela ground.

Colourful display of the RON-PA group in the Mela ground

Sagar Island is one of the core intervention areas under ICZM Project. Hence it was decided to launch an effective mass awareness campaign in the precincts of Gangasagar Mela which will be populated with people of different shades and hues. The mass awareness campaign was formally launched with the speech of Sri Bankim Hazra, Honourable MLA, Sagar and Chairman Sundarban Development Board on 14th January, 2014.

The central theme of the mass awareness campaign was to spread the message of pollution free coastal environment. State Project Management Unit of the ICZM Project coordinated with its partner NGOs and its CBOs to spearhead the mass awareness campaign in every nook and crannies of the Mela ground.

 

The mass awareness campaign got the requisite stimulus with the integration of the performances of the RON-PA (folk dance) group attired with several messages on hygiene and sanitation. Wherever the RON-PA permeates through the muddy and brick roads inside the Mela ground people zooms in with loud applause and inquisitiveness. Members of the partner NGOs and its CBOs too crisscross the Mela ground with the RON-PA group. Banners were displayed; leaflets were distributed together with the mesmerizing performances of the RON-PA group that enthralled the public at large. It can be claimed without an iota of doubt that ICZM Project had able to create an indelible mark in the minds of the people through this new innovative approach of reaching out to its target audience.