A day after Uttar Pradesh Police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse a group of kanwariyas, who were bent on taking their procession through an unauthorised route in Bareilly, flower petals were showered on the devotees from helicopters in Prayagraj.
An official statement said that the state government has showered flowers on the devotees of Lord Shiva earlier also, besides making arrangements for their convenience and security, the statement said. The petals were showered at Sangam along the banks of Ganga and all the routes through which the kanwariyas passed across districts, it said.
District Magistrate Prayagraj Sanjay Kumar Khatri said flower petals were showered in four phases upon the queues of Shiva devotees carrying holy water from Adi Shivalaya Shree Brahmeshwar Mahadev Temple, Shree Mankameshwar Temple and Sangam ghats to Varanasi.
The atmosphere was filled with the joyous chants of Bol-Bam, echoing across the Sangam and the banks of ganga, the government said in its statement. This tradition has also been observed in various cities, including Kashi, Meerut, Saharanpur, Barabanki and Ayodhya, it said.
According to Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma, continuous patrolling is going on in all the routes and ghats used by the Shiva devotees and drones have also been deployed in sensitive areas.
To enhance safety, signages have been installed at blind turns along Kanwar Yatra routes, the statement said. No egg-meat-fish shops are open on the devotees' route, as per specific orders issued to the concerned police station personnel, it said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been overseeing the event and has personally showered flower petals on kanwariyas on the Meerut-Delhi highway on the second Monday of Sawan, it added.
State govt has been facing storm
The state government has been facing a storm from devotees after police diverted the route of the kanwariyas saying they took their procession without permission through a particular route in Jogi Navada under the Baradari police station area which was not the traditional route.
According to local people, Muslim community members on Sunday afternoon opposed the route opted for by the kanwariyas. But as the kanwariyas did not relent, women from the Muslim community sat in a protest for almost an hour. This resorted police to lathi-charge in order to disperse a group of kanwariyas.
Earlier on July 24, the Barabanki district administration showered flower petals from a helicopter on the kanwariyas and devotees who gathered at the ancient Lodheshwar Mahadev temple.
