The Noida administration has said that unauthorised shops selling meat and liquor along the Kanwar Yatra route will be shut from July 14 to 26, the Hindustan Times reported.
This year, the Kanwar Yatra will be held from July 16 to 26. On some days, when a large number of pilgrims are expected to take part in processions, all such shops will be asked to stay shut, Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate Suhas LY said.
During the Kanwar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage, devotees of the Hindu deity Shiva collect water from the Ganga river in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar and offer it at temples in their states. These devotees, called Kanwariyas, walk hundreds of kilometres. Many of these devotees walk from Ghaziabad to Greater Noida in the Gautam Budh Nagar district as part of the pilgrimage.
The district magistrate has asked officials to survey the entire route and identify unauthorised shops. “We will ensure that no unauthorised liquor or meat shops operate along the Kanwar route,” he said. “The purpose is to ensure a smooth route without having any miscreants disturbing peace.”
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Ranvijay Singh said that the closure of illegal meat and alcohol shops is a regular phenomenon during the yatra, The Indian Express reported. The shopowners always follow the instructions as soon as they are relayed.
“One of the major routes starts from Ghaziabad where yatris enter the jurisdiction of Noida at Chilla border,” he said. “A traditional old route along the Yamuna, it is important for those coming from Haridwar and going to Rajasthan and Haryana. Travellers stay at the Shani Mandir and at another camp at Pakshi Vihar and enter Delhi through Okhla barrage.”
The police have also given the district administration a list of waterlogged roads, areas where street lights are not functioning as well as localities where garbage needs to be cleared.
“The work has already begun and we will be fully prepared within the next few days,” the district magistrate said, according to the Hindustan Times. “I have written to all concerned departments to follow through on all the points mentioned in detail in the letters.”
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