Police registration must for Kanwariyas

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 13

The Kanwariyas have to register themselves at their respective police stations for the pilgrimage along with the name of their group leader. They can’t carry sticks, hockey sticks, poles, iron rods, cylinders, drugs and any weapon during the Kanwar yatra. No vehicle would be allowed to ply without a valid license. A control room having police officials from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan would be set up for better coordination among these states.

These decisions were taken at a coordination committee meeting of officials of neighbouring states on the smooth conduct of Kanwar yatra here yesterday. Chief Secretary Shatrughan Singh, who chaired the meeting, requested the officials concerned to control the yatra from the starting point for better coordination. He laid emphasis on speedy interaction between control room and states from where a large number of Kanwariyas come to Uttarakhand. He said joint coordination for transportation and traffic management would ease the pressure on security agencies.

The committee decided that UP, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan would deploy their nodal officers during the Kanwar yatra. The GRP and RPF officials would also be consulted for better railway management. In the wake of terrorist threat, it was decided that all intelligence agencies would coordinate and exchange information speedily.

The meeting also decided that to avoid any communal flare-up during the Kanwar period, the police would be deployed at the religious places along the Kanwar routes. Security agencies have been asked to identify sensitive areas. More than 3.5 crore Kanwariyas are expected to participate in the yatra from July 19 to August 1.