Barely three days to go for the Kanwad pilgrimage, slated to start on the day of Guru Purnima , preparations are far from complete in the holy city. The works going on at the snail’s pace indicate that a mess is awaiting the Kanwad fair. Moreover, Uttar Pradesh irrigation department, National Highway Authority of India, Nagar Nigam and district administration being at loggerheads during the last leg of the preparations, things look sombre.
A recent meeting convened by Nagar Nigam and Uttarakhand irrigation department saw sharp exchanges between the irrigation department officials and the city mayor Manoj Garg regarding the distribution of contracts for Kanwad shops during the mela. The civic body officials say that while the irrigation department is drawing a major portion of the revenue by awarding contracts for the shops the civic body would have to take pains to clean the area after the pilgrimage is over. It is learnt that the civic body has demanded the right to award such contracts during the meeting, something that the state irrigation department officials have raised strong objection to.
Speaking of the matter, an official from irrigation department D K Singh said, “The demand raised by the Nagar Nigam is untenable with the mela grounds coming under the jurisdiction of the irrigation department.” However, the fact on the ground is that the piles of garbage left by the Kanwar pilgrims remain there with the department leaving it to the rains to sweep the ground clean. Meanwhile, the Nehar Patri Marg the Kanwad pilgrims use while carrying the holy water is in a shambles. The heavy showers that lashed the area a few days ago has damaged the track at several places, filling it with mud and leaving some gaping pits. However, UP irrigation department, tasked to take care of the marg, is the least bothered with no repair work being undertaken. Notably, the land near Har Ki Pauri and the surrounding areas of Rodi Belwala, Pantdweep, and northern Ganga canal come under the jurisdiction of the UP irrigation department.
Besides, UP irrigation department is doing nothing to relocate the electricity poles now standing on the roads. The same is the State with the national highway the broadening work of which is still underway, though it was started during the last Kumbh Mela 2010.
During his visit, the State Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj had himself stated that the quality of the construction of Haridwar- Dehradun highway being so poor, no pilgrim who visits once in his private vehicle would dare come again. The condition of water supply on the Nehar Patri Marg is equally pathetic. Most of the hand pumps having gone dry, there is no alternative drinking water arrangement for the pilgrims who would start coming in their hordes in a few days.