Ghaziabad: Shouldering 101-year-old grandmother and Ganga water, pilgrim undertakes 270km Kanwar Yatra

According to Dev, this is his eleventh consecutive Kanwar Yatra and he has resolved to carry his grandmother on his shoulders to Haridwar in Uttarakhand so that she can offer prayers there

Thirty-five-year-old Dev Kumar, a small-time construction contractor, is about to embark on the most momentous journey of his life this Kanwar Yatra. He will cover about 270km by foot from Haridwar to his native village of Dharau in Khurja, carrying both his 101-year-old grandmother Saraswati Devi and an equal weight of Ganga water on his shoulders; his precious cargo placed in baskets tied to either side of a bamboo pole.

Dev and his grandmother reached the Raj Nagar Extension intersection of Delhi-Meerut Road on Friday morning and still have another 70km to cover before they reach their village Dharasu. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Dev on Friday reached Ghaziabad after starting from Haridwar on July 1. This is an annual pilgrimage undertaken by Shiva devotees to carry Ganga water in vessels/cans from Uttarakhand to their home towns in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and others.

“This is my eleventh consecutive Kanwar Yatra and this time, I resolved to carry my grandmother on my shoulders to Haridwar in Uttarakhand so that she can offer prayers there. She weighs about 48 kilos and her seat weighs another 6-7 kilos. I carry her on one shoulder and an equal volume of Ganga water in vessels on the other to keep the bamboo pole balanced,” Dev said.

The total weight Dev Kumar has to shoulder about 116 kilos.

Dev and his grandmother reached the Raj Nagar Extension intersection of Delhi-Meerut Road on Friday morning and still have another 70km to cover before they reach their village Dharasu.

“All along the Kanwar route from Haridwar, people have been very supportive and appreciative of my efforts. I took breaks from walking every 20-25km and from Ghaziabad, I will take a break every 10km and take it a bit easy till Khurja. My grandmother has developed swelling in her legs and needs to rest frequently. The journey is tiring for me, but for her it is daunting at her age,” Dev said.

Dev is walking in slippers that he purchased about a month ago.

“The slippers are very supportive. I purchased these a month ago so that they loosen up and support me on my journey. Midway, we faced rough weather and heavy rain but I continued walking. My grandfather passed away several years ago; otherwise I would have also brought him along,” he said.

The month of Shravan in the Hindu calendar is when Kawar Yatra begins and pilgrims journey to places such as Haridwar, Rishikesh, Yamunotri and Gangotri, among others, to fetch Ganga water to offer to lord Shiva at their local temples. Many of the pilgrims undertake the journey on foot while others use two-wheelers or even commercial vehicles to reach their destination.

Ghaziabad officials estimated that about three million Kanwariyas passed through the district during the yatra in 2022 and they are expecting more this season.

The Ghaziabad traffic police has already announced diversions that came into effect on the Delhi-Meerut Road from July 4 and will remain in place till the morning of July 18.