Amit Poswal | Sr. Correspondent
Lucknow: Sawan month is starting from 22nd July. Yogi government has ordered shopkeepers and Dhaba owners to put their nameplates on the Kanwar Yatra route. Politics has intensified on this decision of the government. The opposition is attacking the Yogi government. Meanwhile, the UP government has said that this rule was made in 2006 itself, which has been implemented. The government said that this decision has been taken to maintain law and order.
There are four main routes of Kanwar Yatra, which starts from Haridwar in Uttarakhand and passes through western Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this, there is a travel route in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which starts from Varanasi and goes to Deoghar in Jharkhand. There is another Kanwar Yatra route, which is between Barabanki and Gonda. There is a famous Mahadeva temple in Barabanki. A large number of Kanwariyas come here in the month of Sawan. Apart from this, Kanwar Yatras are also taken out on a small scale in Prayagraj, Bhadohi, Mirzapur and Ghazipur.
The government is only ensuring that law and order is maintained during the Kanwar Yatra. A government spokesperson claimed that the order is not new, it was first made in 2006 during the Samajwadi Party rule and its rules were issued in 2011 during the Bahujan Samaj Party rule.
‘Order implemented to maintain law and order’
A senior official said that the state government has only implemented an old order to maintain law and order and to ensure a peaceful and peaceful Kanwar Yatra. Kanwariyas are Shiva devotees and follow special rules regarding food etc. during the holy period. Their sentiments should be respected. At the same time, opposition leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, targeted the government over the order and said that this order will create conflict between the two communities.
ADG DK Thakur supported
Meerut Zone ADG DK Thakur supported this claim. He said that the rules were also implemented in 2023. This rule is not new, and we had implemented it last year as well. Some confusion is being spread about this rule. A year or two ago in Muzaffarnagar, some Kanwariyas went to eat at a dhaba on the Kanwar route. There was a Hindu name outside, but later they came to know that the owner and the employees belonged to another community. This led to some altercation. The administration has taken this decision to maintain peace and law and order. To avoid any kind of confusion, especially during the Kanwar Yatra, the eateries located on the Kanwar route will have to write the names of the owner and employees.
‘Decision taken to avoid any untoward incident’
He said that the sole purpose of this rule is to maintain law and order and avoid any confusion. The order is meant to give information to shopkeepers and dhaba owners and employees. Kanwariyas are free to eat wherever they want. This order is also important because during the Kanwar Yatra, lakhs of devotees pass through Uttar Pradesh. Maintaining law and order during this time is a big challenge for the government, so the government has taken this decision so that any kind of untoward incident can be avoided.
