GANGASAGAR, INDIA, January 15, 2016 (The Statesman): Around 700,000 pilgrims took the holy dip on the day of Makar Sankranti at the confluence of the Hooghly river (a branch of the Ganga) and Bay of Bengal on Thursday. Those who took the holy bath on the day came not just from different states of India, but also from countries like Nepal, Thailand and others.
Devotees started pouring into the bay near the convergence point of river Hooghly and Bay of Bengal at 4 a.m. The auspicious bath went on till afternoon. However, a large number of devotees, naga sadhus, monks of several ashrams, including the Shankaracharya of Govardhana Math of Puri, will take holy dip tomorrow at the auspicious moment (Mahendrakkhan). Around 1,400,000 people have visited Gangasagar till Thursday.