UP: Meat shops, restaurants shut along kanwar route till Aug 12

All shops and restaurants serving or selling meat along the Kanwar Yatra routes in Muzaffarnagar have been shut till August 12, while liquor stores will remain open with a screening, officials said on Friday.

Assistant Commissioner Archana Dheeran warned of a strict action against violators of the order.

District Excise Officer Ravi Shankar told PTI, "Only liquor and wine shops situated on the Kanwar routes have been covered with curtains" while the others are allowed to operate as usual.

The Kanwar Yatra began on July 30 with the start of the month of Shravan.

Devotees have started arriving in Muzaffarnagar and were seen performing parikrama at the Shiva temple at Shiv Chowk.

Security has been beefed up across the district, with heavy deployment of police personnel and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) teams along the Kanwar routes.

The annual pilgrimage, during which devotees collect water from the Ganga River in Haridwar and carry it on foot to offer at Shiv temples in their hometowns, will conclude on August 11.

Authorities have also enforced phased traffic diversions and heightened surveillance across western Uttar Pradesh to facilitate the movement of pilgrims.