Kanwar Mela has thrown life out of gear, landing the residents of Haridwar in deep trouble. It is held in the holy city twice a year and each time, they bear the brunt of things, particularly on the front of transportation.
Passengers arriving in the city are being forced to walk several kilometres to get auto- rickshaws. Private vans are charging fares three times more than the normal ones. OPDs in the Government-run hospitals are being affected. Industrial production is being adversely impacted due to the mela. Schools were all closed from August 6 to 11 as per the district magistrate’s order.
It is learnt that the private van (Maggic/Choota Haathi/ pick up model) are charging `150 to `200 for a trip from Haridwar to Dehradun whereas the normal fare varies from `50 to `60.
Number of OPDs in the government-run hospitals has dipped considerably. Dr Anil Kumar, CMS of Harmilap Mission Government Hospital, informed that on normal days, OPD registered varies from 250 to 300. Now with Kanwar Mela on, the figure has come down 100 to 120.
Harinder Garg, president of SIIDCUl Industries Manufacturers’ Association (SIMA) blamed the state government for ignoring their requirements to keep things normal during the mela period. He said that the production and sale of the industries based in SIIDCUl area and other parts of the district are suffering as the trucks carrying their raw materials and the like get stuck on the outskirts of the district.
Vineet Dhiman, secretary of the Haridwar Industries Development Association (HIDA), said that during the fortnight — long mela, the wheels of the industries stop, adversely impacting sale, purchase, supply and production.
Poonam Yadav, principal of a city- based school, said that the mela jeopardises the normal texture of the denizens’ life. Swami Shivanand, the chief of Matri Sadan, said that till a few decades ago, only a few hundred people, mostly from the villages, used to visit Haridwar to fetch Ganga water. “But now, commercialization has reduced it to vulgarity. More are in store as devotion has got dwarfed in the shrill din of commercialization,”
Till Tuesday evening, the figure of the pilgrims stood at 2,67,13,500 as per the official records provided by the Mela in- charge. lost and found cell has handed over 239, including 35 women and 69 children, to their families. On Monday the figure stood at 2,14,18,500. All the parking areas meant for Kanwar Mela have been reported full. Now, the Kanwarias are parking their vehicles hither and thither as they choose, resulting in mile- long traffic jams. None of the sector magistrates, zonal magistrates, sector or zonal police officers and personnel from City Patrol Unit (CPU) bother to step in effectively.
Notably, SP City, Mela in- charge has demanded more force from the IG Garhwal to control things.
It may be mentioned here that over six thousand police personnel have already been deployed at various locations across the mela area. Besides, in a first, the state government has sanctioned `25 crore to district police department for security and `1.5 crore to the district administration, totaling `26.5 crore.