Kanwar yatra: Uttarakhand police releases traffic diversion plan

A separate plan for roadways buses, heavy vehicles, light vehicles, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws, and kanwariyas coming to Haridwar to fetch Ganga water has been prepared

The police have chalked out an elaborate traffic diversion plan ahead of the upcoming Kanwar yatra which is expected to draw around 4 crore pilgrims to Haridwar.

The yatra is scheduled to be held from July 14 to July 26 this year (HT picture)

Superintendent of police (Traffic), Haridwar, Himanshu Verma said to ensure the free flow of traffic, they have prepared a detailed diversion plan for Kanwar yatra.

“However, we will also monitor the traffic in real time and manage it accordingly. And adequate force will be deployed for the management of traffic,” he said.

A separate plan for roadways buses, heavy vehicles, light vehicles, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws, and kanwariyas coming to Haridwar to fetch Ganga water has been prepared, the officer added.

The stretch from Chandi Chowk to Valmiki Chowk to Shivmurti Chowk, Shivmurti Chowk to Har Ki Pauri, and Bhimgoda Barrier to Har Ki Pauri will remain designated zero zones.

As part of the plan, all light and heavy vehicles on their way from Delhi to Dehradun/Rishikesh will be primarily diverted from Rampur tiraha in Muzaffarnagar via Deoband, Gagalheri, Chhutmalpur, and Biharigarh.

If any vehicle from Delhi, Meerut, Haryana, or Punjab wants to go towards Najibabad, Moradabad, they will be sent from Laksar Tiraha to Bijnor road via Raisi, Balawali.

Those going to Gangotri/Yamunotri from Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh will be diverted via Meerut, Muzaffarnagar (Rampur tiraha), Deoband, Gagalheri, Dehradun, Vikas Nagar, Yamuna bridge and Damta.

Vehicles from Haryana/Rajasthan/Delhi/Uttar Pradesh will go to Kedarnath/Badrinath via Meerut, Meerapur, Kotdwar, Pauri, and Srinagar.

Those on their way from Dehradun to Delhi/Meerut and Muzaffarnagar will go via Daat Kali tunnel, Biharigarh, and Chuttmalpur

Vehicles from hilly areas to Delhi, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar via Rishikesh will be diverted from Natraj Chowk, Bhania Wala, Dehradun, Daat Kali tunnel, Biharigarh, and Chuttmalpur.

As many as 12 parking spots have been earmarked for the annual pilgrimage. These are Rishikul Maidaan, Hariram Inter College, Pt Deendayal Dhobhi Ghat, Pantdeep parking, Chamgadarh Taapu parking, Gadda parking, Laljiwala, Sarvanand ghat, Neeldhara, Gaurishankar parking, and Rodi Belwala reserve parking.

Uttarakhand police will deploy around 10,000 security personnel, including home guards, for maintenance of law and order and management of traffic movement during the Kanwar yatra, director-general of police Ashok Kumar had said.

He warned that the police will not tolerate hooliganism during the pilgrimage and added that DJ sets, which create noise pollution, will not be allowed during the yatra.

CCTV and drones will also be used for effective surveillance, he said.

On June 27, the state police chief presided over an inter-state coordination meeting with senior police officers of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and other security and intelligence agencies for effective management of the influx of devotees during the Kanwar yatra.

The yatra is scheduled to be held from July 14 to July 26 this year. It is an annual pilgrimage of Shiva devotees -- known as Kanwariyas -- to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch the water of the Ganga and carry it back to local temples. Devotees come from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh to Uttarakhand.

No room without ID card

Hotels and Dharamshalas in Haridwar should not rent rooms to those who don’t produce their ID cards, the police directed the operators in a meeting for Kanwar yatra on Tuesday.

Haridwar city superintendent of police and nodal officer for Kanwar yatra Swatantra Kumar Singh checking ID cards before renting a room to anyone is a general norm. To check the crime and ensure everybody’s safety during the pilgrimage, hotels and dharamshalas have been instructed to ensure the same.

“We will also keep a tab if the instructions are being complied with,” he said.