Violence and confrontations: Why Delhi is on edge every Kanwar season

The violence in Moti Nagar on Tuesday, involving Kanwariyas, is not a one-off incident — confrontations and violence, mostly over ‘right of way’, are reported every year in the National Capital Region, keeping authorities on their toes during the full fortnight of the pilgrimage.

The violence in Moti Nagar on Tuesday, involving Kanwariyas, is not a one-off incident — confrontations and violence, mostly over ‘right of way’, are reported every year in the three states of the National Capital Region, keeping the authorities on their toes during the full fortnight of the pilgrimage.

Every monsoon, authorities issue statements that any lawlessness by Kanwariyas would be dealt with a heavy hand. The Delhi Traffic Police reiterates that Kanwariyas riding motorcycles without helmets will face action, but none is taken. (Yogendra Kumar/HT Photo)

The heavy police deployment in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana not withstanding, a mere spark, such as a vehicle brushing past a pilgrim, is all it takes to initiate full-blown violence. Last week, a brawl broke out between Kanwariyas and a bus driver in Gurugram after a pilgrim was allegedly hit by the vehicle.

In Tuesday’s incident, Kanwariyas went on a rampage despite a police station being located just 300 metres away. Most confrontations, police say, arise from ‘right of way’ disputes, and though authorities carve out separate lanes for Kanwariyas, they rarely stick to the earmarked lanes and weave their way through the chock-a-block traffic, thus giving rise to conflict.

Every monsoon, authorities issue statements that any lawlessness by Kanwariyas would be dealt with a heavy hand. The Delhi Traffic Police reiterates that Kanwariyas riding motorcycles without helmets will face action, but none is taken.

When it comes to implementation, the police pin their hopes on the pilgrimage passing incident-free. For the duration of the pilgrimage, all traffic and sound limits are ‘relaxed’ for Kanwariyas. Many commuters say they drive slow and turn a “deaf ear” to the blaring music.

Authorities said they are compelled to deploy much of their resources and logistics just to ensure Kanwariyas do not come in contact with the general public, a situation that often threatens to escalate into violence.

Madhur Verma, Delhi Police chief spokesperson, said, “Hundreds of personnel from the local police and traffic police are tasked with the job of streamlining traffic along the Kanwar route. The aim is to strike a fine balance between the pilgrims and the general public.”

The Gurugram police, this year, has tasked more than 800 personnel and put another 100 on standby to prevent any “mishap” involving Kanwariyas. Their counterparts in Ghaziabad have deployed over 1,500 personnel on the Delhi-Meerut Road.

Like every year, they had to practically close the otherwise busy road to regular vehicles for three to four days towards the peak period (the penultimate days) of the pilgrim season. Schools and colleges in the entire Ghaziabad district is shut for five days just to ensure the school buses and students “do not interfere” with the movement of Kanwariyas.

“We deploy policemen in the guise of Kanwariyas to check rumours and prevent anti-social activities that could infuriate the pilgrims,” Vaibhav Krishna, senior superintendent of police (Ghaziabad), said.

Another officer said everything is done to ensure that no “untoward incident” such as an accident or spilling of the Ganga water takes place.

“If anyone’s pot of Ganga water falls, we have people to immediately provide them with another pot. The instruction to officials in the field is to be extremely polite to the Kanwariyas at all times and be cautious while dealing with them,” the officer said.