Soon right after the Uttarakhand state government decided to cancel this year’s Kanwar Yatra in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, more than 800 police personnel are guarding crucial crossings at Haridwar to preserve Kanwariyas at bay and assure compliance of Covid-19 suggestions because July 25. The police personnel are maintaining a watch to assure that no Kanwariyas or devotees enter the holy city till August 7 and violate the government’s order. According to an Indian Express report, the police are returning as a lot of as 150 automobiles back from these checkposts every single day and only enabling these with a genuine travel will need and damaging RT-PCR report inside the city.
What poses a challenge for the police personnel is separating kanwariyas who want to enter in the city surreptitiously from these who have a genuine travel will need but do not possess a damaging RT-PCR report.
How are police identifying suspected Kanwariyas?
According to the Haridwar police information quoted by the Indian Express police have been prosperous in returning as a lot of as 26,217 persons who had been assumed to be kanwariyas as they did not possess RT-PCR damaging report nor they could clarify any ‘valid’ will need to enter the city. Sub-Inspector Anand Chauhan who was manning one such post along with his colleagues told the Indian Express that persons who do not have a damaging test report or a valid purpose to travel to the city are registered as Kanwariyas by police. Chauhan also mentioned that in such circumstances it is assumed that the Kanwariyas are attempting to somehow make their way about to enter into the city and gather the holy water of the Ganges from Har ki Pauri. The police personnel are also strictly screening passenger automobiles bearing the quantity plate of an outdoors state such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh amongst other people.
Challenges prior to police
Even prior to and right after the Kanwariya period and the holy month of Shravana, the state of Uttarakhand is regarded as one of the holiest areas by crores of Hindus and a quantity of rituals beginning from the birth to the final rites of a individual are carried out at numerous temples, shrines and the bank of the Ganges. Take for instance two situations at the similar outpost- a couple accompanied with their kids wanting to take a dip into the river or a host of relatives wanting to disperse the ashes of a departed soul into the river. The couple convinced the police personnel that they wanted to take a dip in the river as there is an impending family function and had been let into the city right after they showed their vaccine certificate and registered on the state government portal.
On the other hand, about 11 family members and relatives who had been enroute to the Ganges to disperse ashes of their loved one had been stopped by police personnel and only 4 of the lot had been let in, as per the suggestions issued by the state government for such circumstances. The police personnel also carried out a speedy antigen for the 4 members and let them go to the holy river.
Other arrangements made by Police
As advised by the honourable Supreme Court, the state government has deployed tankers filled with the Ganga river at numerous crossings in the state to assure that all devotees get the sacred river water. The police are also maintaining an eye on the spots like Har Ki Pauri, Gangotri amongst other people to assure that there are no Kanwariyas who may well have currently entered into the state. A tiny quantity of unfortunate incidents have also been reported from the state like an incident that occured on July 25 when police had to book more than two dozens of Kanwariyas who had entered the city posing as vacationers. The government has also made sufficient arrangements for the institutional quarantine of the Kanwariyas and sending them back to the borders by shuttle buses.