Two special trains from Delhi for Gangasagar Mela

SINGUR - To help pilgrims attend the annual religious fair Gangasagar Mela, the railway ministry has decided to run two special trains in January connecting Delhi and Namkhana, a station close to the venue.

“Two special trains will run from Delhi carrying pilgrims for Gangasagar on January 10,” Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced at a function here Sunday.

The trains will go via Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and reach Namkhana in South 24-Parganas.

On the return journey, the trains will start from Namkhana Jan 16.

“These trains will be of immense help to the pilgrims,” Banerjee said after laying the foundation stone of a perishable cargo centre in Hooghly district.

“In fact, the south 24-Parganas district council had requested me to arrange for special trains for the pilgrims,” she said.

Sagar Island, about 150 km south of Bengal, is a famous Hindu pilgrim spot. Every year, on Makar Sankranti (an auspicious day on the Hindu calendar) on Jan 14, thousands of people gather there to take a dip in the Ganga river and offer puja.

This year, Makar Sankranti falls Jan 14.