A division bench of Calcutta High Court asked the state government to inform the court by 2pm on Thursday its opinion to a public interest litigation seeking cancellation of Gangasagar Mela this year amid the spike in Covid cases.

The division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Kesang Doma Bhutia issued the directive based on a petition filed by social activist Avinandan Mandal.

Moving the PIL, advocate Srijib Chakraborty claimed before the court that if the Mela was not cancelled, there was every possibility of mass spread of Covid. He said over 20 lakh pilgrims from all over India gather at Sagar Island and that pilgrims will first come to Calcutta and go to Sagar Islands in South 24-Parganas, both with very high numbers of Covid patients.

The Chief Justice asked the state advocate general what the government was thinking.

Advocate-general S.N. Mukherji requested the court for a day’s time.

“By tomorrow (Wednesday), we can file an affidavit in regard to the petition,” Mukherji said.

The bench issued an order directing the state to present its view keeping in mind the present situation of the infection in Bengal.