Kanwar Yatra: Curbs on light vehicles on 12 routes in Ghaziabad from July 28 to Aug 5
The latest diversion plan for light vehicles state that autos will not be allowed on the 18km stretch of GT Road from Seemapuri Border (Ghaziabad-Delhi border) to Lal Kuan (Ghaziabad-Gautam Budh Nagar border) from midnight of July 27, and no autos will be allowed on the Delhi-Meerut Road and also on the stretch from Mohan Nagar to Vasundhara flyover
The Ghaziabad traffic police on Wednesday announced another set of traffic diversions for light vehicles such as two-wheelers, cars, small commercial vehicles and three-wheelers from midnight of July 27 to August 5 in view of the upcoming Kanwar Yatra.
The diversion plans for heavy vehicles and route for Kanwariyas have already been chalked out.
The latest diversion plan for light vehicles state that autos will not be allowed on the 18km stretch of GT Road from Seemapuri Border (Ghaziabad-Delhi border) to Lal Kuan (Ghaziabad-Gautam Budh Nagar border) from midnight of July 27, and no autos will be allowed on the Delhi-Meerut Road and also on the stretch from Mohan Nagar to Vasundhara flyover.
“All such vehicles will also not be allowed on the Kanwar Marg near Upper Ganga Canal or the Delhi Meerut Road during the period. Similar restrictions will come into effect for light vehicles between Meerut crossing and Seemapuri border,” the traffic police said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The officers said vehicles will not allowed to ply between New Bus Adda and Chaudhary Morh from midnight of July 27. The stretch is where Dudheshwarnath temple is located and thousands of Kanwariyas throng the temple to offer Gnaga water to Lord Shiva.
“Light vehicles coming from Kundli, Palwar via Eastern Peripheral Expressway, will use the Dasna interchange during the restriction period and move to their respective destinations in Ghaziabad city, Meerut and Muradnagar/Modinagar using National Highway-9. Light vehicles will not be allowed during the period from Meerut crossing towards Kanawani, Indirapuram etc; instead, they will be diverted towards the Vijayanagar rail overbridge and may further use NH-9 to move to their destinations,” the statement said.
Traffic police said that movement of light vehicles will be restricted on Delhi Meerut Expressway from midnight of July 28/29.
“In all, there will be restriction for light vehicles on 12 routes from midnight of July 27 to 8pm on August 5. The restrictions for heavy vehicles will come into effect from July 22 as per plan. There will be deployment of civil police and traffic police personnel throughout the Kanwar Yatra routes and diversion routes,” said Virendra Kumar Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (traffic).
The annual Kanwar pilgrimage is set to start from July 22 and four major roads, including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, have been identified as routes for thousands of Kanwariyas to take while returning from Haridwar in Uttarakhand.
The Kanwar Yatra is carried out during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan. Thousands of pilgrims move towards Haridwar to fetch Ganga water and return to their home towns, where they offer the water to lord Shiva at prominent temples.
Most Kanwariyas return by foot, on motorbikes/bicycles, cars and trucks and since most of them pass through Ghaziabad on their way back to states of Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, it is customary for the district to effect travel restrictions to ensure smooth traffic flow, said officials.