Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 20 : As Kanwar Yatris undertake the holy pilgrimage walk to collect Gangaajal in the holy month of Shravan, Circle Officer (CO) Rishika Singh has been offering relief to the devotees by providing selfless service of massaging their sore feet and hands while also ensuring that special arrangements are made for them.
She said that the Muzaffarnagar police are assisting the women Kanwar Yatris by making special toilets. The police have been providing them with medical aid.
"Our police, especially the Muzaffarnagar police, our administration, and our officials are always on the ground, doing policing to ensure that people don't face any problems, our traffic can run smoothly, and locals also don't experience any issues. Apart from this, we are also helping them by making special toilets for women kanwariyas and providing medical aid... We have made all necessary arrangements for contingencies, and drills are being conducted to prepare for unexpected events. As we are prepared, I do not think it will be a tough task for us," CO Singh told reporters here.
This comes days after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav took a swipe at the Uttar Pradesh government, suggesting that it issue an order prompting top officials to invest their time in providing various facilities related to food and health to the Kanwar yatris.
"They should, the Commissioner, DM and SP should be deployed to make food arrangements for the Kanwar yatris. CO and SDM ko lagao unke pair dabane ke liye (CO, SDM should be deployed to provide them with ease). This will perhaps give them relief. This is our Vedic custom. The government should issue an order that says that DM, SP will make food and health arrangements for the Kanwar yatris and CO, SDM unke pair vair daba kar sewa karenge," Yadav, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, told reporters.
Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Haridwar and participated in the event organised at the Ganga Ghat near Om Bridge and honoured the Shiva devotees Kanwariyas from all over the country by washing their feet. He also participated in the organised Bhajan Sandhya.
On this occasion, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "It is my good fortune to have had the opportunity to wash the feet of Shiva devotees, the Kanwariyas, and receive their blessings. He congratulated all the administrative officers, including those from HRDA and the Haridwar Police, for the successful event. He said that by merely offering water, Lord Shiva fulfils the wishes of all his devotees, and in the month of Shavan, the effect of devotion to Lord Shiva increases tremendously."
"Travelling hundreds and thousands of kilometres from all over the country, Shiva devotees Kanwariyas take the water of Ganga from the religious city of Haridwar and perform Jalabhishek. He said that Kanwar Yatra is not only a symbol of devotion and faith, but it also gives us an opportunity to become a part of virtue in service," he added.
So far this year, more than one crore Shiva devotees have left for their respective destinations on the Kanwar Yatra.