Pilgrimage on the ocean - development of Sagar island, Bay of Bengal

The Ganges is a sacred river rising from the Himalayan glaciers at Gangotri and flowing partly through eastern India and partly through Bangladesh. There are many religious places along the banks. Also there are numerous cities and millions of people live on the two sides of the river. This mighty river flows through a delta, which is the largest in the world. She takes the name of Hooghly and drains in the Bay of Bengal. At the lower Gangetic delta receives silt from upstream and over the years many small islands have appeared in the Bay of Bengal, at the mouth of the river Sagar is such an island whose history dates back to 3000 B.C. These islands face natural disasters; have mangrove forests and interesting biodiversity. On the 14th of January every year pilgrims come from all over India, quarter million people on the average but sometimes one million or more, to pray at a small temple facing the Bay of Bengal. Environmental Plan: Sagar Island (38 km × 8 km) has a floating population and the pilgrims come from transit points. A temporary city is built and several environmental programmes have been taken up like embankment, prevention of soil erosion, conservation of historic areas, afforestation, waste disposal scheme etc. However, it was found that both transit/temporary plan and a long-range development plan are to be prepared. While the temporary plan focuses on transit camps, sanitation and facilities for pilgrims, the long range plan covers land use, deer and marine parks, plantations, helipad, plan for agriculture, fishing, tourism etc. Solar energy and wind power have been introduced. Under the coastal regulations of Govt. of India guidelines have been provided. There are now proposals for development of other islands with improved water transportation system. New islands are coming up and dredging at the mouth of rivers in the bay is difficult and expensive. It requires study of the ecosystem. Conclusion: The environment plan for Sagar Island will create new marine environment with conservation of natural resources and ecology, improvement of coastal amenities and eco-tourism.