PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/ Haridwar
The sacred Kanwar Yatra of the Shravan month has started on Friday with the State, Haridwar and some other district administrations having taken all steps with focus on security, sanitation and technology to facilitate a safe and peaceful religious journey. Meanwhile, lakhs of devotees have set out from states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi among others for Haridwar, Rishikesh and Neelkanth to collect the holy Ganga jaal. As per administrative sources, nearly 70 million devotees are expected to visit Uttarakhand this time. The yatra will continue until July 23.
Health camps, ambulances, mobile toilets, drinking water and waste management facilities have been made available every few kilometres along the yatra route.
With Haridwar being set to witness the largest number of yatris, 16 super zonal magistrates, 37 zonal magistrates and 124 sector magistrates have been deployed across the district.
Administrative sources informed that over 7,000 personnel from the State Police, SDRF and paramilitary forces have been deployed. The fair is being monitored round the clock through CCTV cameras, drones and a centralised control room. To enhance security, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has also been stationed for the first time in areas deemed sensitive from the law and order point of view.
While the landline number of the control room is 223999, the Toll free number is 1077,
mobile number is 7055258800 (only whatasap) and
mobile base number is 9068688840. The people on the yatra have been requested to contact on any of these numbers in case of emergencies.
