Resentment is brewing among the local people who reside along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttarakhand. The sheer number of Kanwar Yatris -- Government officials are putting the number of Kanwar Yatris at more than 2.65 crores this year -- is taking its toll on the fragile civic amenities and the law and order machinery of the State.
In recent years, the Kanwar Yatris have started to travel to the temples of lord Shiva located in the mountainous areas of Garhwal district moreover the Yatra this year witnessed unprecedented number of motor cycle ridding Kanwadias.
The picturesque Neelkanth temple situated at a height of 1330 meters in the Garhwal hills has become a hot favorite among the Kanwar Yatris as it is located less than 30 kms from the temple town of Rishikesh and about 55 kms from Haridwar. Unending line of bike ridding Kanwadias, most of them high on cannabis and other intoxicants, can be seen these days on the narrow Neelkanth road.
The residents of the villages, who reside along the Rishikesh-Neelkanth road, are the sufferers from Kanwar Yatris, especially the bike ridding ones. MS Payal, a resident of Rathapani village, told this correspondent that the constant flow of the Kanwadias has made life difficult for the villagers as the sounds of bikes, mini buses, cars, loud voices of sound systems and honking of horns cause problems to the villagers. He said that many motor bikes ridding Kanwar Yatris use abusive language and pass lewd comments at girls and women.
This correspondent himself saw the waste littered by the Kanwar Yatris; many yatris were seen defecating in open along the road side. The Yatris not only infested the Neelkanth route but also were scattered on other routes. One group was seen bathing in the Hinwal River at Ghatughat village and the villagers there appeared annoyed by this act of Kanwadias. One senior education department official said that the department is forced to close the schools on Mondays during the Kanwar Yatra as the rush increases many folds. The administration, too, is stretched and stressed to control the crowd of Kanwadias.
Vinod Jugran of Beragarh village said that the bike ridding yatris are not actually Kanwar Yatris as Kanwar basically is a single pole with two loads of water which is slung across the shoulder of Yatris who walk on foot. He said that the administration blocks the routes entering the Rishikesh which causes problems to the locals.