Kanwar Yatra traffic curbs to hit western UP districts from July 30

Western Uttar Pradesh will enforce phased traffic curbs and diversions for the Kanwar Yatra from July 30. The measures are expected to slow travel but are backed by heavy security, medical support and surveillance.

In Short

• Kanwar Yatra in western UP from July 30 to August 11 with phased traffic restrictions
• Diversions via Meerut and other routes will increase travel time and raise bus, taxi fares
• Security includes 25,000 police, 7,000 CCTV cameras, 300 kanwar camps and medical facilities

Heavy traffic restrictions will be enforced in phases across western Uttar Pradesh for the annual Kanwar Yatra, with officials saying preparations including medical support, CCTV surveillance and deployment of relief personnel have been completed. The pilgrimage will begin on July 30 and conclude on August 11.

The curbs will affect travel on key routes linking Delhi, Haridwar, Dehradun and Saharanpur, with diversions expected to increase travel time. Officials also said bus and taxi fares could rise because of the longer routes, while liquor shops and non-vegetarian eateries on the yatra route have been cleared.

In Muzaffarnagar district, a complete ban on vehicular movement on the Delhi-Haridwar National Highway and the Ganga canal road will come into force from August 4 to facilitate the movement of kanwariyas. Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said heavy vehicles would be barred from key routes from July 30, while all traffic would be prohibited on the Delhi-Haridwar National Highway and the Ganga canal road in the district from August 4. “Traffic will be diverted to alternate routes to ensure smooth movement of Kanwariyas during the yatra,” Kumar told reporters.

Under the diversion plan, traffic from Haridwar and Saharanpur towards Delhi will be routed through Deoband, Pachenda, Mirapur and Mawana in Meerut before reaching the national capital. Return traffic will follow the same route. Officials said the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation has arranged to run buses on diversion routes, though passengers are likely to face longer journeys and higher fares because of the additional distance.

In Ghaziabad, the commissionerate police have announced a staggered diversion plan from July 29 to August 12. Heavy goods vehicles entering the city from the Delhi side have been barred since Wednesday morning and are being diverted through the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the Ganga Expressway and the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway. Restrictions on light commercial vehicles, cars, tempos and other passenger vehicles will begin from the morning of August 5. The Ganga canal embankment road and pipeline road will remain fully closed, while vehicular movement on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway will stop from August 7, except for Dak Kanwariyas.

Authorities have also suspended the entry of state-run, private, city and electric buses into Ghaziabad from Seemapuri border and Tulsi Niketan from August 5, and diverted them through alternate routes. District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said preparations had been completed, with the district divided into 11 zones, 24 sectors and 108 sub-sectors for administrative supervision. Officials said about 300 kanwar camps are expected to be set up with more than 205 kanwar organisations participating. More than 24 medical camps, 65 ambulances and over 250 reserved hospital beds have been arranged, while NDRF and SDRF teams will be deployed at sensitive Ganga canal ghats.

The administration has also covered transformers, secured around 90,000 electricity poles along the Kanwar route, closed non-vegetarian shops on the route and screened 170 liquor outlets. CCTV cameras linked to multiple control rooms will monitor the yatra, and officials warned of strict action against those spreading rumours on social media.

In Bareilly, the administration has deployed more than 3,900 police personnel across the district for the safety of devotees. The district has been divided into three super zones, nine zones, 28 sectors and 104 sub-sectors for security management. Ten temporary police checkposts have been set up and more than 270 CCTV cameras installed for round-the-clock surveillance, Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya said on Wednesday.

Police records show Bareilly has 1,205 Shiva temples, of which around 499 see jalabhishek during the month of Shravan. Fourteen temples have been identified as major shrines. Arya said the security plan had been finalised after briefing all officers, and that surveillance was being maintained through CCTV cameras to ensure devotees did not face inconvenience. The deployment includes station house officers, inspectors, sub-inspectors, constables, women personnel and Home Guards, while police said adequate arrangements were in place to manage crowds during the pilgrimage.

Earlier, Additional Director General of Police, Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar had said heavy vehicle diversions across the zone would begin at midnight on July 29-30, while restrictions for light and medium vehicles would be enforced from August 4 to August 12. He said people travelling from Delhi to Haridwar and Dehradun could use the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor, where kanwariyas would be discouraged from travelling, while ambulances and other emergency services would be allowed through restricted stretches under police escort. Police have deployed around 25,000 personnel across the Meerut zone, with AI-enabled surveillance through nearly 7,000 CCTV cameras, temporary police posts, barricades and integrated command centres for the yatra.

Overall, the administration in western Uttar Pradesh has put in place phased traffic curbs, diversions, security deployment and medical arrangements for the Kanwar Yatra, with restrictions intensifying from August 4 on several major routes used by pilgrims and commuters.

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