How Uttarakhand is gearing up for Kanwar Yatra; 40 million devotees expected

With the Kanwar yatra set to begin on Thursday after a gap of two years owing to Covid-19 restrictions, the Uttarakhand administration will be put to test for a much bigger challenge than the ongoing Char Dham yatra as 40 million devotees are expected to visit the holy city of Haridwar in a span of two weeks.

The Uttarakhand police have deployed 10,000 personnel to maintain law and order and to manage mammoth crowds and traffic for a peaceful yatra.

For better management, the Kanwar area is divided into 31 zones and 133 sectors. Officials said that the police will use CCTV cameras, drones, social media monitoring and immediate communication through WhatsApp groups among police personnel and public address systems during the yatra.

Paramilitary forces and bomb disposal squads will also remain on their toes to prevent any untoward incident.

An elaborate traffic plan will be in place to tackle traffic snarls and those going and coming to hills will be diverted to bypass Haridwar.

Twelve parking spots have been earmarked for the annual pilgrimage. These are Rishikul Maidaan, Hariram Inter College, Pt Deendayal Dhobhi Ghat, Pantdeep parking, Chamgadarh Taapu parking, Gadda parking, Laljiwala, Sarvanand ghat, Neeldhara, Gaurishankar parking and Rodi Belwala reserve parking.

Law and order challenge

The anticipation of unprecedented crowds poses a law-and-order challenge. Taking a stern view of the “unfortunate” incidents in the past years, the police have warned against hooliganism and have taken a pledge to act tough against “troublemakers” during the pilgrimage.

DJ sets, which create noise pollution and swords and other sharp-edged weapons will not be allowed during the yatra, officials said.

The police, however, clarified sticks will only be monitored at checkpoints to ensure that they are not being used to disturb the peace.

All shops selling non-vegetarian food items and liquor vends on the route of the pilgrims have been closed.

“The management of Kanwar yatra puts enormous pressure on the law-and-order machinery, and indeed, it’s a big challenge,” said director general of police, Ashok Kumar.

“We will remain on toes throughout the yatra to ensure it remains peaceful. Around 10,000 personnel, including home guard jawans and paramilitary force, will be deployed to maintain law and order and unprecedented crowds are expected this time. Our main focus will also be traffic management. In the 60-km stretch from Roorkee to Rishikesh, we have urged people to avoid areas where the kanwayriya movement will be heavy,’’ he added.

The state police chief further said they won’t tolerate hooliganism, and altercations by so-called devotees and will act swiftly.

On June 27, the state police chief presided over an inter-state coordination meeting with senior police officers of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and other security and intelligence agencies for effective management of the influx of devotees during the Kanwar yatra.

All arrangements in place: Haridwar DM

Haridwar district magistrate, Vinay Shankar Pandey, said from street lighting on the Kanwar stretch, parking to other civic amenities, all arrangements have been put in place for a successful and grandeur Kanwar yatra.

“If anything is left, I have directed the concerned officials and nodal agencies (municipal corporation, jal sansthan, power corporation, health, police, public works department) to complete it by today,” he said after making a surprise inspection at Har-ki-Pauri, Laltaro bridge and Upper Road on Wednesday.

The Haridwar administration had fixed July 10 as the deadline for completion of all the projects, proposals, infrastructure and civic amenities-related works.

Superintendent of police (city), Swatantra Kumar, nodal officer for Kanwar yatra, said they were fully equipped and prepared to manage the yatra since it is not the first time that they are managing such big crowds.

“Nearly 3.5 crore people visited Haridwar during the Kanwar pilgrimage in 2019,” he said.

He said to ensure timely and safe exits to Dak Kanwar (one of the five types of Kanwar Yatra in which the devotee does not stop anywhere before the culmination point) would be a challenge for them. At sensitive and diversion points, the deployment will be static 24x7, he added.

First-time non-mandatory registration

In a first, the Uttarakhand police also introduced registration of pilgrims on https://policecitizenportal.uk.gov.in/Kavad for better management of the pilgrimage and to ensure the safety of devotees. However, it is not mandatory to register. “If anyone goes missing and any mishap happens, it will be easier in policing,” the state police chief said.

No room without ID proof

Hotels and Dharamshalas in Haridwar have been issued directions to not rent rooms to those who don’t produce their ID cards.

QRTs to check human-wildlife conflict

The state forest department has deployed quick reaction rescue teams (QRTs) to check human-wildlife conflict as the kanwariyas pass through areas where confrontation with wild animals may happen.

Kanwar Yatra will be held between July 14 and July 26. It is an annual pilgrimage of Shiva devotees, known as Kanwariyas, to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch Ganga water which they take back to their respective areas to anoint Shiv Lingams in temples.