Pilgrims rush to temples for 'jalabhishek' as Kanwar Yatra concludes

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Devotees thronged major Shiva temples across Uttar Pradesh and the north on Shravan Shivratri on Tuesday, the culmination of almost a fortnight-long Kanwar Yatra.

Ahead of the 'jalabhishek', police beefed up security, traffic and crowd-management arrangements at prominent shrines, including Baghpat's Pura Mahadev Temple, Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Ghaziabad's Dudheshwar Nath Temple.

The annual pilgrimage began July 30 with the ushering in of the month of Shravan amid tight security, restrictions on movement on highways, and closure of meat and liquor shops along the kanwar routes in Uttar Pradesh.

Darul Uloom Deoband, the prominent Islamic seminary, issued an advisory for its students, asking them to avoid unnecessary movement on kanwar routes and crowded areas.

Though no official number was given, authorities predicted more than four crore devotees to arrive in Haridwar then.

During the pilgrimage's run, all shops and restaurants serving or selling meat along the Kanwar Yatra routes in Muzaffarnagar were shut. Liquor stores were permitted to open only with screening.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) directed all its 12 zones to keep all meat shops closed along Kanwar Yatra routes and near Kanwar camps.

The Delhi government also hiked financial assistance for large Kanwar camps from Rs 11 lakh to Rs 15 lakh and continued free electricity up to 1,200 units.

More than 1,500 police personnel, along with contingents of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), were deployed across northeast Delhi as part of security measures.

On August 4, a complete ban was imposed on vehicular movement on the Delhi-Haridwar National Highway (NH-58) and the Ganga canal road in Muzaffarnagar district.

On August 8, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed Kanwariyas in Meerut by showering them with flower petals.

The BJP leader showered rose petals on the passing kanwariyas standing on a specially erected platform near the Dulhera police outpost in the Modipuram area.

In Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami showered them with flowers from a helicopter upon their entry in Haridwar.

Throughout the fortnight, all schools and colleges were shut in Meerut and Ghaziabad districts because of heavy pilgrim movement.

Civilians and the state alike opened their coffers for the pilgrims, setting up camps for them all along their route.

A wide array of food choices was witnessed at kanwar camps in Meerut, with such dishes as shahi paneer, pulao, pasta, pizza and momo on offer.

Some camps used roti-makers and machines to chop vegetables in bulk.

With restrictions clamped, passenger footfall at several Namo Bharat stations on the Delhi-Meerut corridor increased by over 40 per cent. Ghaziabad station alone witnessed a rise of more than 50 per cent, according to the NCRTC.

The pilgrimage was not without its share of tragedies.

A kanwariya was killed, and his brother sustained injuries after a truck hit them near Gegal police station in Rajasthan's Ajmer district on August 5.

They were returning to Kishangarh after collecting holy water from Pushkar when the truck allegedly rammed into three pilgrims.

Shubham, 18, a Kishangarh resident, died on the spot.

On July 31, four minor Kanwar pilgrims from Chandigarh drowned in the Ganga near Jatwara Bridge in Haridwar.

They were part of a group that had come to Haridwar for the Kanwar Yatra and were returning after collecting water from the river. PTI