The Kanwadias who keep streaming in the holy city to collect Ganga water seem to be competing with one another in the matter of height of their Kanwads. And this is happening despite the fact that police have fixed the maximum height of such Kanwads following several meetings involving police departments of several states. What is being found is that many of the Kanwads exceed the fixed height limit of 8 feet with police choosing to look the other way. On Wednesday, a Kanwad as high as 20 feet was spotted on the National Highway, something that enraged the power corporation officials. The corporation officials have demanded action from the local police to have the height of the Kanwads checked in view of the height disrupting electricity supply.
Speaking of the matter, Roorkee circle officer Swapan Kishore Singh said that they had received complaints of electricity disruption with the height of the electricity cables on the Kanwar Patri Marg being 20 ft. “We have put the matter to the district police for action,” he said.
Quizzed about the matter, SSP Krishna Kumar V K said that the height of the Kanwads generally remain within the limit of 8 feet as fixed. “However, some vehicles with huge Kanwads being found on the highways are posing problems. We are regulating such vehicles being found on the highways. However, we cannot be very stringent as there is no penal provision to act on it. But it is true that such pilgrims in their craze to be shown big are inviting risks on themselves,” he added.
However, the locals are enjoying the competition the pilgrims are indulging in in the matter of the height of their Kanwads. A local car driver, Rajeev Kumar says that he along with his 10-year-old son goes to Har Ki Paidi daily after his duty is over to watch the majestic Kanwads passing through the roads. “We also enjoy the music being played at high pitch. There is nothing wrong in it. Moreover, the UP chief minister Aditya Yogi has made it clear that nothing should be done to curb the religious fervour the pilgrims exhibit,” he adds.