No Ras Mela at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans again this year, only Ras Purnima puja and holy bath on 22-24 November

The traditional Ras Mela will not be held again this year at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans. The fair has been closed since 2021. However, a three-day Ras Purnima puja and holy bath will be held from 22 to 24 November for Ras Purnima. Only followers of the Sanatan religion will be able to take part.

For the safe travel of pilgrims taking part in the holy bath, five designated water routes of the Sundarbans West Forest Division have been kept in place. Members of the Forest Department, police, BGB and Coast Guard will patrol these routes. Necessary measures will be taken for the safety of the lives and property of pilgrims and visitors.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of the Sundarbans East Division, said there will be no Ras Mela this year either. However, followers of the Sanatan religion will get Forest Department passes and permits to take part in the Ras Purnima puja and holy bath. In that case they must use the designated water routes and follow the Forest Department's instructions.

Forest Department sources said pilgrims will travel to Dublar Char by launch, trawler, speedboat and country boat through various river routes. The five designated routes include from Burigoalini and Kobadak via the Batulanadi, Bolnadi and Patkoshta canal and the Hangsaraj river to Dublar Char; via Koyra, Kashiabad, Khasitana and Bajbaja and then the Arua Shibsa, Shibsa river and Marjat to Dublar Char; and via Nalian station and the Shibsa and Marjat rivers to Dublar Char. The other two routes are via Dhangmari or Chandpai station and Tinkona island to Dublar Char, and via Bogi, Baleshwar, Supati station and Kochikhali and Shelar Char to Dublar Char.

According to the Forest Department's instructions, pilgrims will be allowed entry for three days from 22 to 24 November. At the entry point, passes will be issued after collecting the prescribed revenue based on launch, trawler and boat entry fees, stay fees and the number of passengers. Applications must be made with a copy of the national identity card. Each pass will be stamped with a designated water route, and pilgrims will be able to use one route of their choice.

The journey will begin on 22 November at daytime low tide. The designated vessels will be able to move only during the day. Launches, trawlers and boats cannot stop anywhere other than Forest Department checkpoints. Each vessel must carry the necessary number of life jackets or buoys.

Each vessel must display a B, L, C or serial number and the number of pilgrims on its body in paint or stickers. Each pilgrim will be given a token or ticket on entering the Sundarbans and must keep it with them while staying in the forest. Every launch, boat and trawler must compulsorily report to the control room set up at Alorkol. Legal action will be taken if the instructions are disobeyed.

In addition, carrying or using explosives and firearms has been banned for the Ras Purnima puja and holy bath. Legal action will be taken against anyone found with firearms, explosives, deer-hunting traps, ropes, axes for cutting trees, saws or any other illegal equipment. Single-use plastic plates, water bottles, glasses and spoons cannot be carried. All kinds of noise pollution, including playing loudspeakers and bursting firecrackers, are banned on launches, trawlers and boats and at the holy bath site. On entering the Sundarbans, pilgrims must carry the original copy of their national identity card or a certificate issued by the union parishad chairman.

Imran Ahmed, conservator of forests for the Sundarbans, said no one will be allowed to go to Dublar Char to prepare for the Ras Mela. In continuation of the past four years, there is no permission for any fair this year either. Only followers of the Sanatan religion can go to Dublar Char to take part in the Ras Purnima puja and holy bath, and for that they must follow the Forest Department's instructions.

Imran Ahmed also said the journey will begin together on 22 November from designated points through the Forest Department's security cordon. In the same way, the return journey will also be completed together on 24 November. No one will be able to travel separately. Patrols in the Sundarbans are being strengthened to stop deer hunting on the occasion of Ras Purnima.

The Ras Mela at Dublar Char began in 1923 at the initiative of Sadhu Haribhojon. It is one of the oldest cultural festivals in the region. At dawn on Ras Purnima, devotees seek absolution and wellbeing through a holy bath in the waters of the Bay of Bengal. The Ras Mela there has been closed since 2021, but the Ras Purnima puja and holy bath have continued.