CM Yogi reviews Kanwar Yatra preparations in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday directed all departments to complete preparations for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, including adequate police arrangements, social media monitoring, CCTV installation, according to the district information department

Ghaziabad: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday directed all departments to complete preparations for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, including adequate police arrangements, social media monitoring, CCTV installation, according to the district information department.

The Kanwar Yatra is scheduled to begin on July 30. (HT)

The CM also instructed the police and district administration officials to maintain constant contact with relevant authorities in states like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand.

The directions were issued at a review meeting chaired by CM Yogi. Senior police and administrative officials from the Meerut and Saharanpur divisions, including those from Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, also attended.

The Kanwar Yatra is scheduled to begin on July 30.

In Ghaziabad, the major Kanwar route spans 25km from Muradnagar to Tila Morh and 42.5km from Meerut’s Kadrabad border to the Delhi-Ghaziabad border. An auxiliary route of about 53km on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and the NH-9 is also impacted during the yatra.

During this period, Ghaziabad witnesses a major influx of Kanwariyas arriving from Haridwar, Gangotri, and other religious places. As a result, Ghaziabad traffic police announces traffic diversion plans for this period.

“The CM directed for adequate police arrangements, continuous monitoring of anti-social elements spreading rumors over social media, digital media, and other channels, and directed for strict action. He also directed that CCTV cameras should be installed along the Kanwar yatra routes and monitoring to be done with the drones,” the department said in a statement.

It added that the CM emphasised ensuring that the volume of DJs and the height of Kanwars strictly adhere to prescribed standards so that no obstruction to movement arises. He also directed the public works department to ensure the routes are pothole-free well in advance and that bushes, garbage, or debris alongside the roads are cleared.

Vikas Kashyap, additional district magistrate (city), told HT on Saturday: “The CM also directed that all meat shops across the Kanwar routes must remain closed during the yatra period, and liquor shops need to be closed down or covered. We will be working on this soon, as the yatra will happen during the first two weeks of the month of August. We will soon start with the arrangements as directed. The route diversion in Ghaziabad will be comprehensive like in previous years, and the police will chalk out the entire route in the coming days.”

The officials said that the Ghaziabad district has been divided into 11 zones and 24 sectors to ensure all arrangements are put in place before the start of the yatra.

During his public address at an event in Muradnagar on Friday, CM Adityanath had appealed to Kanwariyas and organisers to ensure their full cooperation with the local authorities and maintain discipline.

Ghaziabad police commissioner J Ravindra Goud and Laxmi Singh, police commissioner of Gautam Budh Nagar, were also present during the meeting along with state-level officials and commissioners of Saharanpur and Meerut divisions.