Dehradun, July 17 (IANS) The Uttarakhand police is expecting over 3 crore people to attend the 13-day kanwar yatra that began in Haridwar on Wednesday. Kanwarias, devotees of Lord Shiva, have started pouring into the holy city with the beginning of Sawan, the fifth month of the Hindu calendar.
Attired in saffron robes and holding kanwars for carrying water from the river Ganga, the kanwarias from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh began to converge into the holy city since early morning.
According to Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Janmejay Khanduri, due to the lunar eclipse this time the number of kanwarias is expected to be less till July 22. “We are expecting heavy rush only after July 22,” he said.
Welcoming kanwarias, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat prayed for their safe and successful journeys. All necessary facilities, like drinking water, were being provided, he said.
Officials have been asked to ensure that kanwarias did not face any difficulty during their journeys.
Director General of Police (DGP) Anil Raturi said, nearly 10,000 police, home guard and central armed police force personnel had been deployed in Haridwar, Rishikesh and other kanwar yatra zones to keep the vigil. The dak kanwar, where kanwarias use automobiles, would start on July 26, Raturi said.
The mela area in Haridwar had been divided into 10 super zones, to be supervised by officers of the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Raturi said.
As the Laxman Jhula has been closed due to safety reasons, kanwarias will be guided through alternate routes, like IDPL and Mohan Chatti bridges, to go to the Neelkanth temple near Rishikesh.
Instructions have also issued that pilgrims coming for the Charhdam yatra should not face any difficulty due to the kanwar mela.
— IANS
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