Devotees ‘Taxed’ At Tarakeshwar Ganga? Know The Truth Behind Sukanta Majumdar’s Viral Claim

A 29-second video is circulating on social media, which claims to show devotees visiting the Ganga ghat near the famous Tarkeshwar temple in Hooghly, being charged for taking the ritual dip. 

“This is Didi’s (Mamata Banerjee’s) development. We have come to Tarakeshwar . We have to pay ten rupees for a ticket to take a bath in the Ganges,” a person is heard saying in the video.

It is customary for pilgrims to visit the renowned Tarakeswar Shiva Temple, situated in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, during the Hindu month of Sawan, to offer prayers and seek blessings. 

Sharing the video on X, one such user wrote, “The Government is charging ₹10 for each devotee to bathe in Ganga river before going to Tarakeswar Shiva temple. The money is being taken from lakhs of devotees to enter the ghat of the Ganga river.”

Sukanta Majumder, Union Minister of State for Education and former BJP state president of West Bengal, also posted the video on his X handle, alleging that the state government was collecting ‘taxes’ at the Nimai Tirtha Ghat in Baidyabati, and slammed it for being ‘anti-Hindu’.

Fact Check/ Verification

We began by carefully examining the viral video. We found a frame where the purported ticket indicating the ‘tax’ by the government was issued, and flipped the frame horizontally. The ticket read, “Development Service 10 Taka.” However, there was no indication that it was issued by a government body as it did not feature the name or logo of the West Bengal government or the local municipality on it.

We did not find any news reports on the alleged levy of a fee on pilgrims visiting the Tarakeswar ghats either.

A reverse image search of the key frame of the viral video led our attention to a post on X-handle by the West Bengal Police dated August 4, 2025, which claimed that Sukanta Majumdar’s post was false. That X post clearly states, “The West Bengal government is not collecting any ‘fee’ from pilgrims for taking holy Ganga water from the Baidyabati Nimai Tirtha Ghat.”

Newschecker reached out to a local journalist who spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying “The ghat authority or state government is not collecting any money. These are private ghats mostly controlled by local clubs, who are charging this against tickets. These private ghats were earlier owned by local zamindars. Now local clubs are taking money from people for using these private ghats.”

Newschecker then reached out to Pintu Mahato, Chairman of Sheoraphuli Municipality, to know more on the viral claim. He said, “No tax is collected from the devotees visiting Nimai Tirtha Ghat by the state government or the municipality. This is complete propaganda. There are some private ghats here like Shubhtala Ghat, Jagannath Ghat, and Poddar Ghat which are maintained by local clubs. They take some contribution from the pilgrims for the development and maintenance of these ghats. This is not new, it has been happening for many years.”

We also spoke to Suman Ghosh, Serampore District BJP President, on this issue who said, “This has been going on for many years. Those who go to Tarakeshwar normally take water from the ghats of Baidyabati and Sheoraphuli. This water is not taken from a single ghat. Hatishala Ghat, Shurighat, Itbhata Ghat, Nimaitirtha Ghat, Poddar Ghat, Bali Ghat, Trishakti Ghat, Chatuganj Ghat- water is taken from these nine or ten ghats. Nimaitirtha Ghat is the only one maintained by the government. No money is collected from that ghat. The fee is collected from the other ghats. Municipal Chairman to the local councilor, everyone is involved in it…”

Conclusion

Thus, it is clear from this that the viral claim accusing the state government of collecting taxes from Hindu pilgrims visiting the Ganga ghats of Tarakeshwar, during the auspicious month of Sawan, is misleading.

Sources
X post by West Bengal Police dated August 4, 2025
Telephonic conversation with Pintu Mahato, Chairman of Sheoraphuli Municipality
Telephonic conversation with Suman Ghosh, Serampore District BJP President
Telephonic conversation with a local Journalist