There has been a high alert issued for administration in Western Uttar Pradesh as millions of devotees of Lord Shiva are all set to observe the annual Kanwar Yatra beginning July 30 and ending on August 11. With the aim of ensuring smooth flow of Kanwariyas with holy Ganga water from Haridwar, the administration has announced phase-wise traffic ban and diversions in major districts like Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, and Bareilly till August 12.
All the important roads like Delhi-Haridwar National Highway (NH-58) and Ganga Canal Road would witness a total ban on vehicles from August 4, leading to difficulty of movement from Delhi, Dehradun, Haridwar, and Saharanpur.
Traffic diversions & alternative route plan per district
It is advisable for commuters in Western UP to make alternative travel arrangements as diversion would increase the overall travel time and fare charges from bus/taxi in diverted areas.
The SSP of Muzaffarnagar district, Sanjay Kumar informed that state public transport buses (UPSRTC) will only ply on detour routes and not on main pilgrim routes.
Massive deployment: AI surveillance, NDRF groups, and zonal security
To deal with the massive flow of pilgrims, districts of western Uttar Pradesh have been divided into multiple security zones along with elaborate administration plans.
Alongside security measures, according to Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar, more than 300 pilgrim camps will be established by over 205 organizations. The administration has also checked 170 liquor shops and shut down non-vegetarian food shops along the complete route of the pilgrims. Warning orders from law authorities have been passed against any type of rumor-mongering on social media sites.