Uttarakhand adm. gears up for Kanwar Teerth Yatra

Hardwar, July 10 (UNI) The civil and the police administration have started preparations for the mammoth Kanwar Teerth Yatra, which begins on July 29, the auspicious day of Guru Purnima.

The yatra will culminate on August 11, the auspicious day of Shiv Ratri of the month of 'Sawan' of Hindu calendar when Shiva devotees, called 'kanwarias', will anoint Lord Shiva in the temples of their respective regions with the holy Ganga water which they would carry from the holy river here in their decorated 'kanwars'.

Nearly 60 lakh 'kanwarias' were likely to wend their way to Hardwar to take water from the holy Ganga river, district administration sources said here.

After a meeting of the top civil and police officials of Hardwar and the adjoining districts of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, called here by the Divisional Commissioner (Garhwal division), Subhash Kumar and DIG (Garhwal range), Ashok Kumar, the DIG told UNI that during the peak days of the yatra from August 3 to August 11 Hardwar-Delhi and Hardwar-Moradabad national highways would remain reserved only for the 'kanwarias' and all vehicular traffic on these highways as well as on all the highways connecting Hardwar with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh would be diverted through alternative routes.

In view of reported terrorist threats, the administration is making highly elaborate security arrangements. The security forces have started intense checking operations at the railway stations in the district.

For security purposes, the mela area has been divided into four super zones, 15 zones and 65 sectors,'' SSP Hardwar V Murgeshan said, adding that Close circuit cameras will be installed at all the sensitive points.

''Besides, a large number of police personnel, 10 companies of the PAC, two companies of the RAF, units of divers, sniffer dogs and bomb disposal squads will be deployed on the yatra route,'' the SSP added.

District Magistrate Anand Vardhan had instructed all the departments to revamp infrastructural facilities, including medical aid, supply of drinking water and electricity, to cope with the tremendous pressure of the 'kanwarias'.

UNI