GANGASAGAR

About Gangasagar ( Sagar / Island )

Sagar island is an island in the Ganges delta, lying on the continental shelf of Bay of Bengal about 100 km (54 nautical miles) south of Kolkata.This Island under South 24 Parganas District in India State West Bengal. It belongs to the Republic of India and is governed by the State government of West Bengal. The island is large with an area of 224.3 km, lying between 2136 to 2156 north latitude and 882 to 88 11 east latitude.[1] It has 43 villages and a population of over 160,000.[2] The largest village is also named "Ganga Sagar" or "Gangasagar".[1] Although Sagar island is a part of Sunderban Administration, it does not have any tiger habitation or mangrove forests or small river tributaries as is characteristic of the overall sunderban delta. This island, also known as Gangasagar or Sagardwip, is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of Makar Sankranti (14 January), hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a holy dip at the confluence of river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer prayers (puja) in the Kapil Muni Temple.[1] Kolkata Port Trust has a pilot station and a light house.[2]