Admin takes stock of preparations for ‘Kanwar Yatra’
MEERUT: Authorities in different districts have directed officials of various departments to submit their action plan in three days for the forthcoming ‘ Kanwar Yatra’. This year ‘ Mahashivratri’ falls on July 26, and Kanwar Yatra is expected to begin on July 14. Officials are expecting a heavy rush of devotees this year because the ‘yatra’ remained suspended for two years amid the Covid- 19 pandemic.
Meerut district magistrate Deepak Meena and his Muzaffarnagar counterpart Chandrabhusan Singh held meetings with officials of different departments in this regard.
Both district magistrates directed officials to submit their action plan for the ‘yatra’ in three days.
They further instructed the officials to inspect all the roads used by the devotees during their ‘yatra’ and to ensure that they should be free of potholes and had proper lighting arrangements.
DM Meerut directed traffic officials to visit and examine how the flow of devotees could be made hassle-free amid the ongoing construction of the Rapid- Rail project on Delhi road. He also emphasised providing adequate security arrangements for devotees, especially women kanwarias during their journey.
Meerut SSP Prabhakar
Choudhary assured of elaborate security arrangements with CCTV cameras and drones keeping a close vigil on the yatra.
DMs of both districts also instructed officials to issue permits only for those roadside camps for providing food and accommodations to devotees that follow all guidelines.
DM Chandranhusan Singh said that a control room would be established in the war room of the district magistrate in the collectorate to keep a close watch on the yatra. A sub-control room would be set up at the Shiv Chowk to assist the main control room.
Officials also suggested that all restaurants and dhabas on the route of ‘ Kanwar Yatra’ must display a rate list of food items so that nobody could overcharge, which in the past has led to a tussle between kanwarias and restaurant owners.
Lakhs of devotees from Western UP, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and other neighbouring states visit Haridwar, Rishikesh and other destinations in Uttarakhand to fetch the holy water of Ganga.
The devotees offer this holy water to their deity Lord Shiva on the day of Shivratri after covering hundreds of kilometres on foot.
The heavy rush of devotees disrupts the normal life and traffic in Haridwar, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Shamli, Bagpat, Hapur and many other districts of western UP for over a week.