Uttarakhand steps up security along border to stop entry of pilgrims

A day after it scrapped the kanwar yatra in view of a possible third wave of Covid-19, the Uttarakhand government on Wednesday stepped up vigilance along the border to ensure that no devotees enter Haridwar for the pilgrimage, slated to begin from July 25.

According to officials familiar with the security arrangement, police and intelligence teams will be deployed in at least a dozen border check posts to prevent kanwariyas, if any, from entering the city.

Additional deployment of forces and barricading will also be carried out at sub-stretch routes that lead to Haridwar from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, which has decided to allow the yatra — where Shiva devotees travel to fetch water from the Ganga to their village shrines. According to senior superintendent of police, Haridwar, D Senthil Aboodai Krishan, all steps are being taken to convey the message to neighbouring states that the kanwar pilgrimage will not be held in Uttarakhand this year.