CS: Keep Kanwar Yatra free from plastic

MEERUT Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh on Saturday directed the officials to keep the forthcoming ‘ Kanwar Yatra’ free from plastic to make it environment-friendly.

The chief secretary and UP DGP Prashant Kumar convened a review meeting of the yatra at divisional commissioner’s office with senior police and administrative officials of Meerut, Saharanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Moradabad divisions and Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan .

They also visited the historic Augharnath temple in Meerut Cantt to take stock of the security arrangements as lakhs of kanwarias offer holy Gangajal in the temple on the day of Shivratri.

Lakhs of Shiv devotees from UP, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand and other states bring kanwar( urns with holy water of river Ganga) from Haridwar, Rishikesh and other destinations and offer it in Shiv temples in their native places on the day of ShivratriThis year the . Kanwar Yatra will begin from July 22 and conclude on August 2, on the day of Shivratri.

Officials of all the districts of western Uttar Pradesh were informed about the Kanwar Yatra proceedings through virtual medium. In the meeting, the chief secretary and DGP were informed about the challenges related to Kanwar Yatra and the preparations made to deal with them through PPT.

Chief Secretary Singh said that good behavior should be maintained towards the Kanwarias during the Yatra. He said that it was the job of the administration to provide security and facilities to the pilgrims and no carelessness would be tolerated. He said that special attention should be paid to cleanliness at Kanwar camps and Kanwar route.

The CS directed the officials to ensure a completely plastic-free yatra and said the devotees should be made aware of it.

Proper barricading should be set up for the safety of the ghats, he said. The entire Kanwar Yatra would be monitored from helicopter and like previous years, flowers would be showered on the devotees.

He also instructed the officials of the public works department and NHAI to make the roads on Kanwar route pothole-free. He instructed the electricity department to repair the electrical wires and poles on Kanwar route so that no untoward incident occurred . He said that accidents of similar nature should be identified and it should be ensured that mishaps did not occur.

DGP Prashant Kumar suggested that availability of anti-venom serum should be ensured in medical camps to provide immediate treatment in case of snake bites. He said that local people should made aware about diversion of routes during the Yatra. There should be proper arrangements for drinking water, light, medical help etc. and necessary action should be taken to control the speed of vehicles.

He said that for the security of the devotees, action should be taken in coordination with the neighbouring states and information should be exchanged by forming a WhatsApp group. He directed the officials that the height of DJ Kanwar should not be too much. Transformers falling on kanwar route should be barricaded.

The officials of other states have been directed to provide ID cards to the kanwarias of their areas so that they may be contacted and provided assistance in case of any problem.

CS Manoj Kumar Singh and DGP Prashant Kumar said that officials had been asked to mention the village and police station of the kanwarias so that they could be immediately contacted at the time of a crisis or problem.

The two officials said that kanwarias would not be able to carry spear, trident or any weapon with them. There would be no restriction on DJ on the route of Kanwar Yatra, but as per the rules there must be a noise limit. Besides, Kawar Yatra would be monitored through CCTV cameras and drones. Special attention would be paid to the devotees carrying the Tricolor during the Kanwar Yatra.

They gave directive to build 8 joint control rooms in UP and Uttarakhand which would help in providing required facilities to kanwarias and monitor influx of devotees .

Divisional commissioner, Meerut Division, Selva Kumari J apprised the chief secretary and DGP about preparations made for safety and security of kanwarias during the yatra.

ADG of Meerut zone Dhruvkant Thakur, IG Nachiketa Jha, district magistrate of Meerut Deepak Meena, SSP Meerut Vipin Tada, managing director PVVNL Isha Duhan and all the officers concerned of the district/division, commissioner of Saharanpur, Aligarh, Moradabad division attended the meeting.