Uttar Pradesh: Police personnel, helicopters deployed for special vigil on kanwar yatra routes

Several companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Central Para-Military Forces, as well as civil police personnel, are part of the security arrangements on the kanwar yatra routes

Police personnel have been deployed on 840 kanwar yatra routes that span nearly 12,535 kilometres and lead to around 4556 Shivalayas (Shiva temples) during the ongoing auspicious month of Shravan, senior Uttar Pradesh police officials said here on Wednesday.

Devotees in queues at the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi on Wednesday marking the advent of the auspicious month of Shravan or Sawan. (ANI PHOTO)

Besides special officers, helicopters have been pressed into service for aerial vigil on these routes, they said.

The officials also said the steps were in consonance with chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s directive to ensure the safety and security of all pilgrims during this auspicious month.

Several companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Central Para-Military Forces, as well as civil police personnel, are part of the security arrangements on the kanwar yatra routes, besides at Shiv temples, rivers and ghats as well as 314 sites of Sawan melas and pilgrim camps.

Over 1500 meetings were held with kanwaria organisations, which set up roadside camps offering food, water, bedding, and washroom facilities for devotees, the officials said. Meetings were also held with the authorities of temples to discuss security deployment and crowd management.

The kanwar yatra is marked by devotees of Lord Shiva undertaking an arduous trek, mostly on foot, to collect water from several rivers, including the Ganga and the Saryu, and ghats across the state. They then offer the water to Shivlings in temples in their localities or those situated in historical places. ‘Shivratri’ on July 15-16 is the main occasion of the Jalabhishek ritual. The month of Shravan began on Tuesday (July 4) and will conclude on August 30.