Dehradun (Uttarakhand): 

Given the increasing crowd of Kanwariyas, the NH-58 Dehradun-Delhi highway has been completely closed from Monday, July 29 to August 2. The roads on both sides of the highway have been reserved for Kanwariyas.

After the Kanwar Yatra started on July 22, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh Police implemented the diversion plan in their respective states. From today, vehicles on the Dehradun-Delhi highway will only go through the diversion routes determined by the police.

In the pilgrimage town of Haridwar, about 1.25 crore Kanwariyas have left for their destinations, carrying Gangajal from Har Ki Pauri and other Ganga Ghats. The Kanwariyas, who are devotees of Shiva, bring Ganga water to their home towns to offer to the Lord Shiva each year.

Most of the devotees collect the holy water from Haridwar in Uttarakhand. The Kanwar Yatra started on the first Monday of Sawan, on July 22.

Amid the recent influx of pilgrims in Haridwar, the area has been divided into 12 superzones, 35 zones and 132 sectors for better management.

The Kanwar Yatra procession witnesses Kanwariyas collecting water from a river and carrying it hundreds of kilometres to offer it to the Lord Shiva shrines. According to Hindu beliefs, Parshuram, a devotee of Shiva and Lord Vishnu's avatar participated in the initial procession.

This sacred month, typically falling between July and August, is a period of worship, fasting and pilgrimage dedicated to the Lord Shiva.

Earlier, Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate (DM), Arvind Mallapa Bangari, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abhiskeh Singh conducted a foot match with the ATS commando unit amid the ongoing Kanwar yatra on Saturday and said that all the police personnel have been deployed at various points to ensure that the yatra goes unhindered.

"As you know, the Kanwar yatra is at its peak and a lot of Kanwar yatris have been coming to Muzaffarnagar. We made suitable preparations way before it all started. Our police personnel, as well as our personnel from other departments, have been managing to ensure that there are no difficulties during the ongoing kanwar yatra. we are trying to ensure that all our police personnel are appropriately deployed at the duty point, said Muzaffarnagar DM Arvind Mallapa Bangari.

Source: NDTV