CM reviews Kanwar Mela preparations in Haridwar
By Our Staff Reporter
Haridwar, 12 Jul: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed the preparations for the upcoming Kanwar Mela 2024 at the Mela Control Room here today. He directed the officials to complete all the preparations before the start of the Kanwar Mela. He said that it should be ensured there is no chaos and needless problems during the Kanwar. Local people should not face unnecessary problems in commuting.
As the Kanwar Mela is organised every year, he said priority should be given to works of permanent nature. He also issued instructions to the officials to bring long-term development action plans into the work culture.
The Chief Minister said that arrangements should be made to shower flowers by helicopter to welcome the Shiva devotee Kanwarias when they reach Haridwar. The police and administration should be ready to deal with the challenges during the Kanwar Yatra. Along with the deployment of police forces along the entire route of the Yatra, construction of temporary police posts should also be ensured at various places and arrangements for additional police force made.
Dhami also directed the police to maintain continuous surveillance with drones and CCTV cameras in highly crowded areas. Information about bypass and alternative routes should be given to Kanwariyas through sign boards. He also instructed the officials to work in coordination with neighbouring states to ensure the safe completion of the Kanwar Yatra.
The CM further asserted that that, before the Kanwar Yatra, beautification of the Kanwar trek and other basic arrangements should be ensured. Adequate arrangements of toilets, bathing houses, clean drinking water, passenger sheds, lighting and power supply and medical facilities should be ensured on the Kanwar route. Special attention should be paid to make the journey of Kanwariyas smooth and easy. Quality checking campaign should be run regularly at hotels and dhabas located on the Yatra route and in Haridwar area, rate lists should be displayed properly. He also stated that special attention be paid to cleanliness during the Yatra and that cleaning work should be carried out all 24 hours. It should be ensured that there is no encroachment of any kind in the Mela area.
The Chief Minister said that the local people should not face any problem in movement, the traffic on the roads should not be affected and a better route plan should be made for traffic management. He directed the police and the administration to ensure adequate parking arrangements in Haridwar area. He also directed them to make a common diversion plan by mutual coordination with other states. Apart from this, water ambulances should also be arranged during the Kanwar Yatra. Special verification drives should also be run during the Kanwar Yatra, so that strict action can be taken against people coming to the Yatra with fake identities. Special magistrates should also be appointed for the supervision of various works.
District Magistrate Dhiraj Singh Garbyal said that the Kanwar Mela period is from 22 July to 2 August. This year 5.5 crore Kanwarias are expected to come to Haridwar during the Mela. A control room has been set up for the smooth conduct of the Kanwar Yatra, which will operate on 24-hour basis. Also, 14 super zones, 36 zones and 130 sectors have been set up for smooth conduct of the Yatra. Five nodal officers have been nominated for the Mela. The Kanwar route and other main routes have been smoothened and made convenient for the journey. The facilities of health camps, mobile medical teams and ambulances are also being strengthened.
During the meeting, representatives of Shri Ganga Sabha, various organisations, public representatives thanked the Chief Minister for the successful Kanwar Yatra last year and put forward their suggestions for Kanwar Mela-2024. The Chief Minister urged them to make the Yatra successful with the cooperation of the district administration and various organisations, NGOs and local people. District Magistrates of Dehradun, Rudraprayag and Pauri, who joined through virtual medium, informed the Chief Minister about the preparations made at the district level.
On this occasion, District Panchayat President Kiran Chaudhary, MLAs Aadesh Chauhan, Pradeep Batra, Mamta Rakesh, former Cabinet Minister Swami Yatishwaranand, former MLA Sanjay Gupta, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, DGP Abhinav Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan, Principal Secretaries RK Sudhanshu and L Fanai, Secretaries Shailesh Bagoli, Nitesh Kumar Jha, Sachin Kurve, Vinod Kumar Suman, Dr R Rajesh Kumar, Commissioner, Garhwal, Vinay Shankar Pandey, ADG AP Anshuman, IG, Garhwal, KS Nagnyal, Additional Secretary Ranveer Singh Chauhan, Director General of Information Banshidhar Tiwari, SSP Haridwar Pramod Dobhal and other district level officers were present.
