Delhi govt to set up 185 kanwar camps

A revenue department official said that around 150 large camps have already been erected, and the remaining camps will be set up by July 25

The Delhi government on Monday announced that it will set up 185 camps for kanwars. These camps will mostly be along the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh borders in the northeast Delhi, east Delhi, and Shahdara revenue districts, which serve as entry and exit points for the devotees, revenue minister Atishi said.

A kanwar camp being set up on NE3 near IP Extension. (Raj K Raj /HT Photo)

“The Arvind Kejriwal government sets up kanwar camps across the city and ensures the best facilities for kanwariyas… Each camp will be equipped with high-quality waterproof tents, medical facilities, clean water, toilets, and furniture,” Atishi said at a press conference at the Delhi secretariat.

“Approximately 2 million kanwars pass through Delhi. Ever since the Arvind Kejriwal government was formed in Delhi, high-quality waterproof tents, medical facilities, clean water, toilets, furniture, beddings, have been arranged so that the kanwars, coming after a long journey, do not face any kind of problem,” said Atishi.

A revenue department official said that around 150 large camps have already been erected, and the remaining camps will be set up by July 25.

The kanwar yatra is carried out during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan. Thousands of pilgrims mostly from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh move towards Haridwar to fetch holy Ganga water and return to their hometowns, where they offer the water to lord Shiva at prominent temples. This year, the annual pilgrimage started on July 22, and it will conclude on August 2.

The Delhi Traffic Police on Sunday had announced that due to the annual kanwar yatra, vehicular movement in parts of Delhi — especially in northeast, east, central, south, southwest, and north Delhi — will be affected till August 2.

Police on July 18 had issued a string of advisories to organisers of kanwar camps in order to curtail the chaos for residents. The measures the camps have been asked to follow include a ban on playing music past 10pm every night, a limit on how loud the music can be, and a strict no encroachment of space on roads meant for movement of traffic.

To be sure, the arrangements of camps and other facilities for kanwariyas are being made in the Capital for decades, but are often flouted.