HC drops Suvendu Adhikari from Gangasagar Mela monitoring panel

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday dropped the leader of the opposition in the state assembly from a three-member committee formed on January 7 to monitor compliance of Covid restrictions at Gangasagar Mela in Sagar Island.

The West Bengal government run by the Trinamool Congress objected to the inclusion of the Leader of the Opposition, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, in the committee.

The division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Kesong Doma Bhutia has instead reconstituted it to a two-member committee comprising former Justice Samapti Chatterjee and the member secretary of the West Bengal Legal Services Authority.

Also read: SC rejects West Bengal govt's plea against protection from arrest to Suvendu Adhikari

Earlier, while allowing the annual congregation of pilgrims to take place between January 8 and 16, the bench directed that the entire Sagar Island be declared a notified area.

The bench on Monday iterated that this be done within 24 hours. It also instructed that all those visiting the Mela should be doubly vaccinated and test negative in an RTPCR test, conducted 72 hours before reaching the venue.

It has also asked for strict regulation of crowds to maintain social distancing. Declaration of the island as a notified area will empower the state to take measures for safeguarding the health and welfare of the pilgrims as it deems necessary.

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