By Road:

You can take a bus or taxi from Kolkata to reach Gangasagar, which is about 140 km away and takes about 4 hours.

The ideal route is to travel from Kolkata via Diamond Harbour Road. You will need to travel about 90 kilometers to reach the Harwood Ferry Port in Kakdwip (from the Kolkata Esplanade Bus Terminal). If you are driving a private vehicle, you can exit Shirakol and take the Ring Road. You should turn right at Usthi Bazar before turning left again after 100 meters, which will take you to Hotuganj. By taking this route, you can avoid Diamond Harbour City and reduce your travel time by at least one hour and 10 kilometers. This road will take you to Lot No. 8, popularly known as Harwood Point. Ask the locals about the various ghats at the jetty.

By train:

You can take a train from Kolkata’s Howrah Station to Namkhana Station, the closest station to Gangasagar. From Namkhana, you can take local transport, such as a taxi or shared auto-rickshaw, to reach Gangasagar.

Howrah and Sealdah stations provide excellent connections between Kolkata and the rest of India. Howrah Station is the largest and second busiest station in India, with Sealdah Station being the busiest.

To visit Sagar Island, take a local train from the southern terminus of Sealdah Station to Kakdwip/Namkhana Station. There are three direct trains departing from Kakdwip (Namkhana Locals) every morning at 4:00, 5:00, and 7:00. These direct trains arrive at Kakdwip Station in approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes. By train, Kakdwip is 95 kilometers from Sealdah.

Please note that the same train runs frequently to Namkhana from Sealdah to Laksmikantapur, where all local passengers transfer upon arrival. Return journey.

By plane:

The nearest airport to Gangasagar is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata. You can take a taxi from the airport to reach Gangasagar, which is approximately 120 km away and takes about 3 hours.

Advertising can create and reinforce discrimination in society by shaping perceptions, setting unrealistic standards, and marginalizing certain groups. Here’s how this happens:

1. Stereotypes

Gender roles: Ads often portray women as homemakers or beauty-focused, while men are portrayed as leaders, breadwinners, or decision-makers. This reinforces outdated gender norms.

Racial and cultural stereotypes: Certain ethnicities may be portrayed in limited and exaggerated ways (e.g., with accents or clothing) that reinforce prejudices.

Age bias: In ads, young people are often idealized, while older people are portrayed as fragile, dependent, or irrelevant.

2. Exclusion and underrepresentation

Ads may completely ignore certain groups, such as people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, or minority communities, making them feel invisible.

Underrepresentation in mainstream campaigns can imply that some groups are less important or desirable.

3. Colorism and Beauty Standards

Many beauty and fashion ads promote lighter skin tones, Eurocentric facial features, and thinner bodies as the “ideal.”

This can lead to internalized discrimination, where people from darker-skinned communities or those with different bodies feel pressured to conform to a narrow standard.

4. Cultural Appropriation

Sometimes, brands use elements of a marginalized group’s culture (clothing, hairstyles, religious symbols) without respecting their meaning or citing the source.

This can trivialize or commodify traditions, reinforcing unequal power dynamics.

5. Economic Discrimination

Premium brands may use aspirational advertising that glorifies wealth, luxurious lifestyles, and exclusivity, subtly devaluing those with lower incomes.

This can create perceptual divisions based on social class: who is “successful” versus who is “inferior.”

6. Reinforcement of Social Hierarchies

Advertisements often place certain groups at the center of stories, while relegating others to background or subservient roles.

These repeated images can normalize an unequal social order.

7. Influence Public Attitudes

Over time, biased portrayals in advertising influence people’s perceptions of others.

When ads consistently portray specific groups in inferior, comical, or villainous roles, viewers can internalize these ideas as reality.

Advertising not only sells products, it also sells ideas about identity, worth, and belonging. When these ideas are biased or exclusionary, they can create or deepen discrimination in society.

In India, the law does not set a fixed timeframe for the police to freeze a bank account; it depends on the reason for the freeze and the stage of the investigation.

Why can the police freeze an account?: Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and various special laws (such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act or the Income Tax laws), the police or other authorities can order a bank to freeze an account if they believe it contains money linked to a crime.

Duration: The account remains frozen until the investigation or prosecution is completed, unless a court orders its unfreezing sooner. This could mean weeks, months, or even years in complex cases.

Your rights: You can contact the investigating officer, senior police officers, or the court to request unfreezing, especially if you can prove the money is not related to any illegal activity.

Court Orders: In most cases, the freeze must be supported by a written order, and the bank is required to strictly comply with it.

In short, the police can keep your account frozen as long as legally necessary for the case, but you can challenge it in court to release it sooner.