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Haridwar Bolsters Sanitation and Security for Kanwar Yatra

Expanded toilets, new cleaning machines, stepped-up police surveillance, gender-specific services are being deployed to reduce crowd risks before the yatra ends on August 11.

'Kanwariyas' and others take a holy dip in the Ganga river during the annual 'Kanwar Yatra', at Har Ki Pauri, in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
Image
Women devotees at Dashashwamedh Ghat collecting sacred Ganga water in Prayagraj (HT)
The campaign would promote the message of drug-free devotion, communal harmony and responsible conduct. (HT File)

Overview

  • The Kanwar Yatra began on July 30 and runs through August 11, with lakhs of devotees collecting Ganga water and travelling to Shiva temples across northern India.
  • Haridwar Municipal officials say they have installed about 300 FRP and steel toilets plus roughly 60 mobile units and will add around 15 new cleaning machines to keep ghats and routes clean.
  • The city has phased deployments of extra sanitation staff, with about 900 additional workers during peak days, and is running NGO-led awareness drives to discourage littering and plastic use at pilgrimage sites.
  • Uttarakhand Police have placed nearly 6,000 personnel on duty, added CCTV and watchtowers along key routes, and a social-media unit has identified roughly 160 accounts spreading misleading content.
  • Safety efforts include targeted women’s measures such as changing rooms, women-only toilets, help centres and women police at major ghats, and police water teams have both rescued drowning pilgrims and responded to recent fatal incidents that highlighted remaining risks.