Kanwariyas start thronging Haridwar

Tribune News Service

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Haridwar, February 10

Kanwariyas from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and other states have started thronging Haridwar for the Phalgun pilgrimage.

Phalgun Kanwar begins after Maghi Poornima and culminates on Maha Shivratri, which falls on February 17 this year.

For the past few years, Haridwar had been witnessing a sharp increase in the number of Kanwariyas coming here to fetch Ganga jal from the sanctum sanctorum of Brahamkund, Har-ki-Pauri, and other Ganga ghats. Last year, the city witnessed nearly 2 crore Lord Shiva devotees.

The mela administration is expecting that the figure will further increase this year.

City-based literati PS Chauhan said earlier, the Phalguni Kanwar fair would witness only one to two lakh Kanwar devotees, mainly from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. However, now more Kanwariyas had started coming from Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh as well.

Mela police in charge Surjeet Singh Pawar said elaborate security arrangements were in place for the ongoing Kanwar pilgrimage. He said special focus was on the core mela zone and the Haridwar-Najibabad highway from where a majority of Kanwariyas arrive towards Ganga ghats.

Traders have also been asked to remove encroachments, if any, for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.