Ghaziabad: Kanwar Yatra diversions to come into effect from July 11

In Ghaziabad, the Kanwar route spans 25km from Muradnagar to Tila Morh and 42.5km from the Kadrabad border to the Delhi-Ghaziabad border

Traffic diversions for the annual Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage will be enforced from July 11, with heavy vehicles barred on designated Kanwar routes until July 24, officials said on Wednesday. Light vehicles will also face restrictions from July 17 onwards, with curbs applying to the Delhi-Meerut Road, and the Delhi-Meerut Expressway as well. 

About 10,000 “Kanwar Mitras (civic volunteers)” have been issued ID cards to assist in crowd management and smooth passage of devotees. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

“The diversion for the heavy traffic vehicles will be from July 11 till July 24. These vehicles will not be allowed to move on the Kanwar routes,” said Sacchidanand, additional DCP (traffic). “Likewise, light vehicles will also be restricted on the Kanwar route from July 17 onwards. The restrictions will also be in effect on the Delhi Meerut Expressway,” he said, adding that the exact timings of the diversions will be released shortly.

The Kanwar Yatra, which begins with the start of the Hindu calendar month of Shravana, sees thousands of devotees—Kanwariyas—travel to holy places like Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Gaumukh to collect Ganga Jal, which they carry back—often on foot—to their hometowns. 

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

Under the traffic plan, heavy vehicles will be diverted via NH-9 and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, with about 600 traffic police personnel and other officers deployed across Kanwar routes for enforcement, traffic officials said. 

Given the multi-state span of the pilgrimage—across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and others—a coordination meeting was held on Wednesday in Ghaziabad, attended by officials from Delhi, Noida, Meerut, Bulandshahr, and Hapur. “The traffic diversion plans were shared during the meeting, and measures to tackle any emergency situation were also discussed. It was also decided that the Kanwar Yatra would only pass through traditional routes,” the Ghaziabad police said in a statement. 

For real-time monitoring, authorities will operate three main control rooms, 12 sub-control rooms, and one dedicated traffic control room. Public address systems will be used to guide traffic and devotees, officials said, adding that this year, around 1500 CCTV cameras will be installed—up from 1100 last year—to monitor Kanwar routes, with footage fed to the central control room. 

Around 2,500 civil police personnel will be deployed, including 550 at the Dudheshwar Nath temple, a key offering site, officials said. Additionally, 10,000 “Kanwar Mitras (civic volunteers)” have been issued ID cards to assist in crowd management and smooth passage of devotees.