HARIDWAR/DEHRADUN: Nearly 3.5 crore devotees from western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi visited Haridwar during the 10-day Kanwar fair which concluded on Friday, police said.
Chanting ‘Bol Bam’ and ‘Jai Shiv Shankar’, the Kanwariyas arrived in groups and separately to Haridwar and collected Ganga water for offering it to Lord Shiva.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Haridwar, Krishna Kumar VK said traffic movement on the Delhi-Haridwar-Dehradun highway will ease out from Friday noon or Saturday. “The number of devotees arriving Haridwar increased this year. We are compiling data from various sources and our estimate suggests nearly 3.5 crore (people) reached Haridwar,” he said.
Last year, 2.9 crore people had congregated at Haridwar and Rishikesh. Ten pilgrims died this year and nearly 50 were injured in different incidents.