Lucknow: In the holy month of Shravan, worship of Adi Vishweshwar Lord Bholenath has special importance. All the devotees worship in different ways to please their deity. In this sequence, lakhs of devotees carry Kanwad from different areas to anoint Lord Shiva with Gangajal, mostly Kanwad Yatra starts from the main Ganga Ghats of the state and Haridwar, children, old, young, women, men all participate in it.
During this, devotees also help the devotees participating in the Shraddhavas Kanwad Yatra on these Kanwad routes in every possible way. The state government is also making every possible effort to ensure that the devotees do not face any problem anywhere.
State Urban Development and Energy Minister A.K. Sharma said this through video conferencing on Sunday and extended heartfelt wishes to everyone for the Kanwad Yatra and the upcoming festivals. He directed the officials of the Urban Development and Energy Department to make special arrangements on the designated routes and Shivalayas for the Kanwad Yatra starting from the first Monday of Shravan month on Monday, July 22.
He said that there should be no dirt anywhere near the Kanwar Yatra routes and Shivalayas, better arrangements for cleanliness should be made. Arrangements should also be made for the supply of clean drinking water near the Kanwar Yatra routes and Shivalayas. There should be no lack of light around the Kanwar Yatra routes and Shivalayas, power supply should not be interrupted, power system should be strong, power lines should not be dilapidated and poles should not be bent.
Keep the power system in rural and urban areas in order, keep getting the current flowing through the electric pole, staywire, transformer safety net checked regularly, for permanent solution also get the earthing of the electric pole checked. Also check the junction box of the street light. Wherever the line is down on the roadside or near the road, put up boards to caution against electrical accidents.
Get the branches of trees touching the electric line trimmed. All arrangements should be made to avoid any accident due to electric shock. Uninterrupted power supply should be provided in the Kanwar Yatra routes and Shivalay areas, trolley transformer should be arranged for uninterrupted power supply. The camps set up on the Kanwar Yatra routes should be given electricity connection on time. All Discoms should operate a 24-hour control room for monitoring. Barricading should also be installed on the Ganga Ghats so that no one can go into deep water.
A.K. Sharma said that lime, bleaching powder and medicine should be sprayed near the Kanwar Yatra routes and Shivalayas to protect the devotees from communicable diseases and mosquito-borne diseases. Mobile toilets should be installed near the Kanwar routes and Shivalayas, attention will be paid to the cleanliness of public and community toilets on the routes. Availability of tankers for drinking water supply should be ensured.
IEC camps should be set up to monitor the Kanwar Yatra routes, and shines should be set up to determine the routes. Changing rooms should be made for men and women, cloth bags should be distributed for plastic-free Kanwar Yatra. To avoid accidents, there should be no problem due to stray animals anywhere on the designated routes of Kanwar, it should be managed better.
All the bodies should put up posters and banners to publicise their identity and schemes and for easy access of devotees to the facilities provided. T-shirts and caps can be distributed to the devotees. To ensure that all works are conducted in a better manner, the help of NGOs, volunteers and social organisations should also be taken. Departmental personnel should also constantly monitor the works and work diligently.
It is the rainy season, so constant monitoring should be done to ensure that current does not flow through electric poles, transformer’s safety net, staywire etc. Cover electric poles with polythene and barricade the transformer with bamboo sticks. On the Kavad Yatra route, wherever the electric line is near the road or crossing the road, be extra cautious there so that there is no possibility of an accident. In rural areas also, SDO, JE and lineman will regularly visit the areas and monitor them.
A.K. Sharma said that there should be better management of cleanliness of the areas and lanes and roads around the Shivalayas or places of worship located in the urban areas and the rural areas nearby, supply of pure drinking water should be ensured, arrangements should be made for proper disposal of worship material coming out from the places of worship. Garbage should not be spread here and there, dustbins should be kept near the Kanwar Yatra routes and Shivalayas.
The roads and lanes leading to the places of worship should be in good condition, there should not be any potholes under any circumstances. Electricity supply should not be disrupted, street lights should be arranged, devotees start reaching the Shivalayas for worship from 3:00 am onwards. Keep the Quick Response Team active in all the urban bodies on the Kanwar Yatra routes. 24 hour control rooms should be operated in all Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats for monitoring.
A.K. Sharma directed the officials of the urban bodies and electricity department of the 10 municipal corporations with the highest number of Kavad Yatras namely Ayodhya, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Saharanpur, Mathura, Agra, Lucknow and the five municipal councils namely Baghpat, Modinagar, Muradnagar, Garhmukteshwar, Muzaffarnagar to make special arrangements and remain alert 24 hours a day.
