Security beefed up for Kanwar yatra

Security has been tightened in the district to ensure smooth 'Kanwar yatra' and traffic on Delhi-Haridwar national highway has been diverted. To prevent any untoward incident, the highway to Haridwar via Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad and Modinagar has been closed for eight days.Superintendent of Police (Rural) M M Beg today appealed to the public to help Kanwarias (devotees of Lord Shiva) pass through the city.Traffic from Delhi to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Roorki has been diverted to alternative routes.

"The traffic going to Meerut from Delhi will be diverted from National Highway 24 via Lal Kua, Pilakhuwa Hapur, Babugarh, Garhmukteshwar and Kithore," Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent Police Raghubir Lal said.

"All vehicles going to Haridwar from Delhi will come to Meerut via this route and will proceed via Bijnore and Najibabad. Heavy vehicles will not be allowed to ply on closed road," he added.

Kawar pilgrims or Lord Shiva devotees gather at Haridwar to take a dip and carry water to offer it to Lord Shiva. Kanwarias are called so because they carry a 'kanwar' or pole on their shoulder with the covered water pots balanced on its two ends.

Kanwar Yatra 2010: National highway closed till August 8

In a measure to ensure a smooth 'Kawad Yatra', the Delhi-Haridwar national highway has been closed from today keeping in mind the huge rush during the event, officials said here.

The highway to Haridwar via Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad and Modinagar has been closed for eight days due to the rush of devotees. Pilgrims have been allowed to pass via Ganga Canal road, they said. "The highway has been closed to prevent any untoward incidents," Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Santish Kumar said. The traffic from Delhi to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Roorki has been diverted to alternative routes from today. "All the traffic going to Meerut from Delhi will be diverted from National Highway 24 via Lal Kua, Pilakhuwa Hapur, Babugarh, Garhmukteshwar and Kithore," Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent Police Raghubir Lal said.

"All the vehicles going to Haridwar from Delhi will come to Meerut via this route and will proceed via Bijnore and Najibabad. Heavy vehicles will not be allowed to ply on closed road from this evening," he added. The highway has been closed till August 8. The security has also been tightened along the route. CCTV cameras have been installed and policemen in kawad dress have also been deployed along the route.

Meanwhile, officials said that they will keep be a strict watch on temples and roads, inside and outside the city area of the districts. All eduational institutions along the Kawad yatra route will remain closed till August 8. Kawad pilgrims or Lord Shiva devotees who call themselves 'kanwariyas' gather at Haridwar to take a dip and carry water to offer it to Lord Shiva on August 8.

23 pilgrims killed as truck falls into gorge in Uttarakhand

Twenty—three people, mostly from two Haryana villages, were today killed when a truck ferrying ’Kanwarias’ (Shiva devotees) fell into a gorge in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The truck, which was on its on way to Gangotri, fell into the 150—metre deep gorge killing 23 people, including the driver and the cleaner, at Dabrani on Rishikesh—Gangotri national highway about 70 kms from here, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Saurabh Jain told. 21 bodies of youths have been fished out by the police and ITBP personnel and they have been sent for a post mortem, he said, adding efforts are on to extricate two more bodies from the accident site. A pall of gloom descended on villages of Baghanki and Kherki in Haryana’s Gurgaon district, from where nearly all the youths killed belonged. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has also ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. The Haryana Government announced an exgratia of Rs two lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed deep shock and grief over the deaths and said that his government was in touch with the administration of Uttarkashi to bring back the bodies. Gurgaon district administration has sent of a team of officers led by Tehsildar Manesar KS Dhaka to assist the family members and villagers who have rushed to Uttarkashi, according to the Deputy Commissioner Rajender Kataria. A group of 29 youths from the two villages had gone on the pilgrimage, district officials said, adding efforts were on to identify those missing.

Heavy rains and floods over the last two days have left six others dead and thrown life out of gear in Uttarakhand. Several important roads were washed away in the heavy floods due to which a large number of villages were cut off. A vital stretch of Raipur-Chamba road was also washed away due to heavy floods in the river Song in Dehra Dun, where large areas have been inundated leading to loss of property after last night’s torrential rains that broke a 44—year record. Meanwhile, two ‘Kanwarias’ from Uttar Pradesh were today killed while another was injured when a motorcycle on which they were riding collided with a bus at Jwalapur area of Haridwar district, 47 km from here. The incident took place when the motorcycle collided head on with the bus killing Raju (20), a resident of Ghaziabad and Bablu (22), a resident of Meerut on the spot, police said. Another person identified as Deepak was also injured in the accident and he has been admitted to a nearby hospital, they said.

The Motorcycle Diary

Going to Leh on a two-wheeler is every biker's ultimate dream. Santosh Nair, who was part of one such adventurous trip, shares the fun with the readers of TOD:

At the age of 37+, when guys of my age would settle for a relaxed package destination, I chose to be different & how! I decided to join a motley group of Dehradun-based bikers of varying age (youngest is all of 18 years) and occupations ranging from a freelance engineer to a IT professional to a printing press owner to a student just out of 12th. We formed Windtalkers which had Akash Bhutani, Vivek, Jaideep, Naren and me. And here I share with you a few pages of my diary during this adventurous journey…

June 6, 2010

We started our trip from secretariat and we had Udhampur as our target for the night halt but could reach only Pathankot as Vivek's bike developed a snag. Towards evening we reached Dasyu and saw the incredulous sight of Big McDonald towering down upon us. It didn't take us long to dig into the burgers and shakes while the bikes got special attention from the locals and tourists alike. After the unexpected treat we reached Pathankot and called it a night in one of the umpteen a/c lodges dotting the bus depot.

June 7, 2010

Had a wonderful breakfast on the banks of the Ravi, en rote to Udhampur. Next day we reached Patnitop where cool breeze gave us a warm welcome.

June 8, 2010

While admiring the panoramic view, we reached famous Jawahar tunnel and by noon we were at Srinagar. We had quite an eventful night.

June 9, 2010

In the morning we were ready hit Srinagar-Leh highway. We were on our way to Zozilla pass set amidst huge snow-capped mountains. We had a small stopover at Ghunni, with the Zozilla war memorial in the backdrop, but with rain and snow making a sudden appearance the Windtalkers had to take 'wing'. Firing on all cylinders we made it to Batra transit camp just before Drass where the C.O, Col. Sanjay Aggarwal made our stay immensely relaxing. This incidentally is the coldest transit camp in the world where temperatures touch -60 °C but the warmth offered by our hosts made us feel very much at home.

June 10, 2010

Our stop was Operation Vijay Memorial on the Drass-Kargil road. It was a humble feeling standing in front of the urns of the martyrs and looking at the brave hearts' photographs with 'Dil Maange More' Vikram Batra being the most poignant. The ride to Kargil and winding road up to Fotula top was great. The breathtakingly barren and chameleon like scenery with wispy clouds above gave different shades to the undulating Mars-like terrain below. We reached Fotula top by late afternoon and moved to our next stop, Lamayuru monastery.

The drive down from Lamayuru led us to a cobbled road with a steep descent and vertical, never-ending rocks. Soon we were at Leh on an absolutely desolate stretch of highway amidst beautiful snow-covered peaks. We wished to hang out a bit more but Leh was beckoning us and so was our guest house owner who very thoughtfully had sent his son to accompany us from the middle of town. We reached Chandan guest house and had a superb dinner and soon moved into our sleeping bags.

June 11, 2010:

We woke up to a morning where yaks were tilling the field with the imposing mighty Himalayas in the background. Soon we decided to roam around the main bazaar looking for small mementos and came the news that Leh-Manali road was still blocked and wasn't expected to open in the next week. So we decided to visit Pangong Lake next day.

June 12, 2010:

We departed for Pangong Lake. We had a quick meal at Karu, where the locals told us that no traffic was coming from the Manali side. Determined, we left for Chang la pass which is the third highest pass in the world at 17,586 feet. Without spending too much of time in the snowy, breezy environs, we descended down the surreal road to Pangong passing through the Pagal nullah. Suddenly the road veered one last time and before our eyes was aquamarine Pangong Lake in its entire splendor. We clicked and clicked but never got enough of this magnificent lake. Well, after another Maggi lunch, we reached Leh. We decided to drive down to Khardhungla and stay over in Nubra valley the morrow.

June 13, 2010:

It rained till afternoon, so it was time for some Kashmiri lunch at Budshah restaurant while the veggie gang had a great meal at Lamayuru restaurant. We belched out loud at Leh town from the panoramically placed Shanti stupa. The bird's eye view from there is simply breathtaking. Evening was again at our favourite haunt - the Inner Space Café. We looked forward to the next day as we wondered whether we would we make it to Khardhungla.

June 14, 2010:

Morning again started on a dismal note with rain again but it settled down soon enough for the Windtalkers to attempt the final frontier, Khardhungla. But, as luck would have it, it started snowing in South Pullu, about 14 kms from our target. We stuck around for two hours having tea and 5-star bars waiting for the weather to clear but the Gods did not relent and we had to surrender to our fate for the day. After a really quick bite in Leh, we decided to visit the double humped camel breeding facility in Chechode village (35 kms from leh).

The amiable staff told us that the normal visiting time was over but they would show us the facility nevertheless.

June 15, 2010:

The bright morning sun beckoned us to have our date with Khardhungla. But at South Pullu our hearts sank as road ahead was blocked by landslides. We stood our ground unabashedly like a few love-struck maniacs waiting for their beloved. Well, our love affair with Khardhungla could not end in despair. After three hour's lull, we were told that the road was open. So the Windtalkers were on their final mission. The next 14 kms were the toughest with snow clouding our visors and diesel fumes from the jeeps ahead strangling our lungs. But we made it to the summit in good time and finally Windtalkers conquered the Everest of biking, the highest motorable road in the world at 18,380 feet!

June 16, 2010:

I took the next morning flight out of Leh to come back to chaotic Delhi while the rest of the Doon guys made it back along the same route in next three day's time. I came from a cool 15°C to a whopping 42°C in under 1 ½ hours. Well, that happens only in India. Incredible indeed!

Landslides block roads to Gangotri, Badrinath

Landslides triggered by heavy rains blocked two key highways connecting major pilgrimage centres of Rishikesh, Gangotri and Badrinath in Uttarakhand on Thursday, leaving hundreds of people stranded. The landslides struck the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway (NH-108) at Nalupani area in Uttarkashi district and Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway (NH-58) at Chhinka area in Chamoli district, sources in Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC) said. The personnel of state police and Border Road Organisation have been pressed into service to clear the debris and open the road for vehicular traffic, they said. Meanwhile, nine persons, including a woman, were injured when boulders hit them while travelling in a jeep in Chami area of Uttarkashi district. The woman, who was injured seriously, has been admitted to hospital, they said.

Saving the big cats

Officials have launched a patrolling operation in Corbett National Park to save tigers and other animals during the monsoon:

Vipul Goel

The forest officials of Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand state have launched a patrolling operation in the park in order to save tigers and other animals in the monsoon season. The park is closed down for tourists every year for four months during the monsoon season as the roads become unsafe. The forest officials have launched 'Operation Monsoon' which involves long and short range patrolling to check hunting and other illegal activities during this period.

"In the last few years we have improved our security tactics. 'Long Distance Patrolling' is one successful measure. We are trying to enhance the beat-level patrol. All this is done in a positive direction to upgrade the security system. We are also in contact with the surrounding units and often go for joint-patrols. We are also doing an inter-state patrol with Uttar Pradesh," said U.C. Tiwari, warden of the National Park.

The operation involves about 500 forest staff. The security guards are divided in to the group of 8-10 members and each group is sent for patrolling in different areas of the forest.

"In the forest area surrounding Corbett, where tigers roam, we try to ensure the safety of the tigers. So, we are making efforts to enhance the security of Jim Corbett by involving public support and help in increasing the digit (of number of tigers)," said Tiwari.

Jim Corbett National Park, the 1,300-square km reserve at the Himalayan foothills, has 164 tigers of the remaining 1411 tiger population in India.

In print

Ranu Bisht, a resident of dehradun has been doing her bit to make Garhwali literature available to the masses

Ranu Bisht was just 23 years when she willingly left her medical studies to provide emotional support to her mother after the sudden demise of her father. There were five younger siblings to be taken care of, though not monetarily. But Ranu willingly sacrificed her career for the sake of her family and decided to start from scratch. The year was 1997 when she started Samay Sakshi (Time as Witness), a printing and publishing unit, to give a platform to writers fighting the statehood battle for Uttarakhand. She herself became active participant in the movement and did all she could to give voice to the cause.

Though getting into the publishing business was not easy, she was learning by trial and error. But over the years in spite of several hurdles, she made a success of her venture and today has a staff of about 14 employees.

"It is difficult to earn their salaries every month but at the same time it is really challenging and truly fulfilling at the end of the day. I am glad that I opted for this work.” Ranu began her enterprise with a small loan of Rs.1 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Yojna. Initially I would go to people to get work, but gradually work began pouring in.” As most of the books that Samay Sakshi takes on for publication are not run of the mill, the distribution, too, has to be via several mediums so that they reach out to greater readership. "Some of our books have done exceptionally well. For instance, both the English and Hindi versions of Surendra Pundir's Gods of Jaunpur and Jaunpur Ke Teej Tyohar have sold well. Sangarsgnama on the Chipko and other movements by Sunil Kainthola is another book that did well. Chitthi Pattri, an annual Garhwali magazine by Duklan, has received rave reviews."

While working, Ranu says, she never felt like a woman working in a man's world. "But yes, I hardly get any governmental work as I can sense that being a woman people find it difficult to ask me for a 'cut'."

Accept life as it is

Dr. Nalini Jain

There are so many things in life which are beyond our control. We can neither be a chooser nor a controller in most of the matters of our lives. In such case it is better to accept positively, whatever life offers. We can not mend the system. Whatever is beyond our control needs to be accepted that too gracefully. By making us accept, life is making us evolve, day by day. Acceptance is something we must come to in order to survive a painful loss. It could be loss of a beloved one or some prized possession. It is an art to accept the grief which life throws upon us.

Not accepting the loss and fighting within is sheer loss of energy leaving us broken and shattered. On the contrary, acceptance offers a very simple solution to the problems of life. But we must not consider this acceptance as an act of cowardliness. Rather it demands courage to accept the situation or system which cannot be mended. Let go the events which you can't change, just accept them. Acceptance is a sign of courage. We must not cling to the past. Just move on. Accept people and circumstances as they are. Acceptance saves us from so many ignoble and useless things. Always acting and never reacting to any situation comes as a handy tool in observation of this mantra of acceptance. A poet has beautifully etched: My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me/I cannot choose the colours, He worketh steadily/Oft times he weaveth sorrow, And I in foolish pride/forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.

There are multifarious benefits which come by following acceptance in life. Accepting life on its own terms saves us from being a victim and blaming the world or the circumstances. When inflicted with AIDS, legendary wimbledon player Arthur Ashe had beautifully accepted his suffering saying, "When I was holding the world cup I never asked God why he gave this cup of success to me alone; now when I am ailing how can I ask him, why this suffering to me alone?" Acceptance ultimately culminates in abundance. Life brings all those gifts with it like health, happiness, joy, love, success in abundance. The negative energy of useless worry, fear, guilt or regret gets transformed into positive feeling of gratitude of all our assets in life. We rewrite our script of lives in a new way when acceptance dawns in life and thus evolve to a better person than what we were before.

Success story

Kota Classes continues to help students from Haridwar region in realising their dreams. In 2010, 13 candidates in IIT-JEE, 35 in AIEEE and 10 in UPMT secured good positions. Yash Pathak, a resident of Haridwar, secured 17th rank in IIT-JEE and Abdul Kadir secured 23rd rank in UPMT. Its director Dr. Ravi Verma feels that the most important requisite for success in engineering and medical exams is the right frame of mind. "One must be clearly aware of his strong and weak areas, once identified a comprehensive study material coupled with a good test series helps a lot in your preparation." The institute in this session has also launched different programs for 11th, 12th and 12th passed students entitled as foundation and dropper target batch, respectively. Focussed study, a positive approach and time management are some other important aspects.

in brief: July 2010

State yet to set up SHRC

Nine states are yet to set up State Human Rights Commissions (SHRC), Rajya Sabha was informed. Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Goa, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Uttarakhand have not yet constituted State Human Rights Commission, Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken stated in a written reply to a question in the Upper House. "The government and NHRC have been requesting to all those states, which have not yet constituted their State Commission, to do so," he said in reply to question about the action taken by the government to get SHRC Constituted in all states. The government of India and National Human Rights Commission are keen that every state sets up a Human Rights Commission, the Minister said.

Pandey new DGP

Jyoti Swaroop Pande, an IPS officer of 1976 batch, has taken over as Uttarakhand Director General of Police. Pande was the Director General (Technical Services) before he was appointed the state DGP. He replaced Vijay Raghav Pant who was holding the charge of acting DGP since July 12. Before that Subash Joshi was the DGP and was relieved of his charge in the wake of alleged beating of a ruling BJP MLA by police.

Nature’s fury

A total of 80 districts across India have been "adversely affected" by recent floods. These districts include 14 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 each in Arunachal Pradesh and Kerala, 15 in Assam, five in Bihar, one each in Goa, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Pudducherry, five in Haryana, and eight each in Mizoram and Punjab, water resources minister Pawan Kumar Bansal informed. He said while the state governments are "primarily responsible" for undertaking relief measures at the ground level, the centre supplements the efforts of the states by providing logistic and financial support. The minister said flood management is a state subject and the schemes related to it are executed by the state governments. "However, a plan scheme -- Flood Management Programme -- has been approved in principle by the central government at a total cost of Rs. 8000 crore during the XIth Five-Year Plan to provide central assistance to the state governments to undertake flood management and anti-erosion work," he said. Besides assistance under the Flood Management Programme, Bihar, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have been provided a total of Rs.183.66 crore grants-in-aid for taking up flood protection works on border rivers under the central 'River management Activities and works related to Border Areas' during the XIth Five-Year Plan. These states share international borders with Nepal and Bangladesh.

Bus falls into gorge

At least 12 people were killed and 10 others injured when a bus in which they were travelling fell into a gorge at Nirbha area on Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border on Tuesday. The area is 27 kms from Kalsi area of Uttarakhand, said Dehra Dun Senior Superintendent of Police G.S. Mortolia. He said most of the passengers travelling in the bus belonged to Tyuni area of Uttarakhand.

Bravehearts

The body of Gorkha Rifles soldier Rohit Gurung, who died during patrolling two days ago in Kashmir, was brought to his hometown in Dehradun, Uttarakhand for final rites on Monday. Gurung was killed by a landmine explosion while patrolling in the Poonch area of Kashmir on Friday. "Today, indeed, it is a very sad day for all of us...bid the final farewell to one of our fallen comrade. The soldier was from the battalion which was deployed in the northern areas in field and he was in operations when his death took place," said K. Mukherjee, Commanding Officer of the 62nd battalion of the Gorkha Rifles. Gurung's father said that he was proud of his son, as he laid down his life in the service of the nation. "It hurts, but at the same time I am happy that my son sacrificed his life for the country. I still say that if I had another son, I would have sent him to the Indian Army as well," said Gopal Singh.

Chinese national held

Four persons, including a Chinese national, were arrested with 2.4 kg of a banned aphrodisiac herb in Uttarakhand's Almora district, police said. The police team also recovered Rs 3.50 lakh cash from their possession. Acting on a tip off, the police stopped a jeep near Falsima village and arrested the four persons who were allegedly smuggling 2.4 kg of Yartsa Gambo, the banned herb, they said. The suspected smugglers have been identified as Jhen Heng Jhau, a Chinese national, Vijay Kumar and Yogendra Singh, both residents of Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh, and Vijay Kumar of Udhamsingh Nagar in Uttarakhand. The accused were going to New Delhi for selling the herb, police said, adding investigation was on to get more details in the case.

Financial assistance

Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has approved a scheme for providing financial assistance to writers for publishing their books. The state's culture department would have the right to sanction upto Rs 2 lakh to the writers for publication of their book. However, if the publication requires more than Rs 2 lakh, the department has to forward the matter to the government, an official release said.

Uttarakhand wants more powers to store foodgrains

Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has sought more powers to the state to store foodgrains. "The centre has to coordinate production, export, import and storage. Lakhs of metric tonnes of wheat is rotting, while people were dying of hunger. This clearly shows lack of coordination," he told reporters. Pokhriyal, who was in New Delhi to attend the National Development Council Meeting, said states were willing to store foodgrain but the Centre was not ready for it. On the proposed Goods and Services Tax regime, he said it would put a question mark on the rights of the states.

"Under GST, states cannot increase or decrease taxes as per their requirements. The right will rest with the centre which is not correct," he said. On the issue of centre's decision to withdraw special industrial package to the BJP ruled Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, he said the two states will continue to press for resumption of the package. "We were given the package by the NDA government till 2013 but the UPA Government withdrew it in 2010," he said.

IIT-R, WII to study hydel projects

The centre has roped in IIT-Roorkee and Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for cumulative impact assessment of all proposed hydel projects on the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda

rivers:

IIT-Roorkee and Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) will do cumulative impact assessment of all proposed hydel projects on the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in Uttarakhand. The move comes against the backdrop of agitations by activists against the projects planned on Bhagirathi on the grounds that they would harm the ecology including adversely impact the natural flow of the rivers in the region. The BJP government has plans to build 300 small, medium and large dams on the various tributaries of the Ganga to meet the increasing power needs in the state.

While the IIT has been asked to finalise its report within six months, the WII has been asked to do so within next two months on the broad impact on the ecology of the surrounding areas.

Stating that environmental impact assessments of individual projects on the rivers have been so far made on a stand-alone basis, the Environment Ministry has stressed on a comprehensive study of the series of proposed thermal power plants -- those planned, under implementation or operational. "It has been decided that a comprehensive study may be undertaken on the likely cumulative impact of the projects on the flow and character of the river. The study would inter alia, determine the requirement of minimum flow from the proposed and already commissioned hydro electric projects on these rivers in their entire stretch," a senior official of the ministry said.

This was decided at a meeting chaired by environment secretary Vijai Sharma recently after he noted that cumulative environmental impact of various projects on the riverine ecosystem in general and terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, in particular, should be taken into account.

He also felt that compliance of the stipulated conditions on which various projects have earlier been cleared needs to be assessed.

The IIT has been asked to assess cumulative impact of all hydroelectric projects proposed or established on river Alaknanda and Bhagirathi upto Devprayag. "Whether the acceptable limits of geomorphological stability or of environmental sustainability, particularly of environmental flows, are likely to exceed at any small or large hydropower project site(s). Whether there will be a depletion of irrigation potential or availability of drinking water in habitations as a result of any project and their impact on ground water and springs in the basin as well on places of cultural, religious or tourism importance will be the term of reference of the study" the official added.

2010: A Kanwar story

Each year with Kanwar mela comes numerous opportunities and challenges, Reports P.S. Chauhan:

With the Kanwar Teerth Yatra at its peak, all the highways and link roads to and fro present a kaleidoscope of interminable rows of the saffron clad Shiva devotees. Popularly called Kanwarias, carrying decorated kanwars (bamboo structures), containing vessels full of Ganga jal and reverberating the air with the chants of 'Bum Bum Bhole', interspersed with their folk songs and jingling of bells tied in their feet. Indeed Kanwar mela yatra is a sight to behold. This year nearly 80 lakh kanwarias are likely to congregate at Haridwar during the two-week long Kanwar Mela. It is really a grand spectacle of the manifestation of faith , as Shiva devotees, including men, women , yung and children, march on foot, braving all the vagaries of weather, with Ganga jal with which they will anoint the Lord in the temples of their respective regions on the auspicious day of Shiv Chaudas which this year falls on August 8.

Due to the swelling numbers of Kanwarias it is becoming a formidable challenge for the police and the civil administration to hold this mela. During recent years rowdy elements have also started infiltrating the Kanwar Teerth Yatra, making it highly prone to violence. In view of the increasing threat to the religious gatherings by the terrorist groups, the security aspect has become a matter of concern. "We have made highly elaborate security arrangements to avert any possible untoward incident during the Kanwar Yatra. Nearly 4,000 security personnel, including personnel from civil police, PAC, RAF, the bomb disposal squads, the units of sniffer dogs and divers, have been deployed on all the routes. CCTV have been installed at all the sensitive points and police men in the garb of kanwarias will keep a tab on anti-social elements," says the SSP, Sanjay Gunjyal.

During Kanwar Teerth Yatra the normal life in the city is thrown out of gear, as all the streets in the city virtually remain under the siege of the kanwarias. It also exerts tremendous pressure on the infrastructure. Also police and the officials of almost all other departments are posted on Kanwar Mela duty. "Since most of the officials are deployed on Kanwar Mela duty, they cannot perform their normal duties and to some extent, the public has to suffer some inconvenience," the district magistrate, Dr. R. Meenakshi Sundram frankly admits.

Opportunities

Kanwar Teerth Yatra is a big opportunity. The business community has a boom time during the yatra. The shopkeepers, the hoteliers, the proprietors of the dharamshalas, restaurants and the dhabas, all have a flourishing business these days. In the city, most of the shopkeepers shut up their main business and start selling the kanwar items such as towels, caps, baniyans, vessels for Ganga jal, rudraksh rosary and gift items. "On an average, a kanwaria spends around Rs.500 during his stay in the city and If 80 lakh kanwaris, which are expected this year, it will generate a whooping amount of Rs.4000 crore for the business community," says Kailash Keshwani, the president of the district Vyapar Mandal. Bottom-line is that each year, in one way or other, entire business community of the region make the most of this famous kanwar fair.

Challenges

Kanwar mela adversely impacts the industrial production also. Since the national highways remain closed during the peak days, the transportation of raw material and the manufactured goods from the industrial units suffers. "As containers cannot pass through the narrow alternative routes, production of the factories is adversely affected and cause loss of about Rs.1 crore/day during the mela," says Harendra Garg, the regional chairman of the Industries Association of Uttarakhand (Garhwal Region). Though this year the national highway within the boundary of state will not be closed for traffic and the kanwarias will be made to pass through along the Ganga canal. But this is not going to fully solve the problem, as UP govt. has not yet agreed to open thse canal foot path for the kanwarias that lies in UP.

Brotherhood

Above all Kanwar Teerth Yatra promotes communal harmony. Yatra passes through many Muslim dominated localities but sans communal tension. Also a bulk of kanwars are prepared by the skilled Muslim workers. The members of the Muslim community from Haridwar region remain engaged for months in making kanwars. Rahman Ali of Bijnor says that his family has been coming to Haridwar for making kanwars for the last five years. "We earn about Rs one lakh every year by selling kanwars," says Ali. Babli, awardee of President's Award for Bravery for Children has been helping her father, Shadi Hussain in making kanwars for the last seven years. "Making kanwars is not only a source of livelihood for my family, but it also gives us satisfaction that we are lending a helping hand for a good cause," says Babli.