Lucknow, Aug 8: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed Kanwariyas in Meerut on Saturday by showering them with flower petals.
Standing on a stage, Adityanath, along with BJP leaders, showered rose petals on the passing Kanwariyas from a specially erected platform near the Dulhera police outpost in the Modipuram area.
In a Hindi post on X, Adityanath said, “Flower petals showered upon devotees and Kanwar pilgrims in Meerut during the holy month of Shravan.”
Later, speaking to reporters, he said, “Devotees of Lord Shiv — the Kanwariyas — are heading towards their destinations after collecting holy water from Haridwar, so that they can perform the ‘jalabhishek’ (ritual offering of water) at sacred Shiv temples. Lakhs of Shiv devotees are participating in this pilgrimage. Just now, in Meerut, I had the opportunity to shower flower petals upon these devotees.”
Additionally, Local Intelligence Unit (LIU), anti-sabotage teams and bomb disposal squads were continuously inspecting the area, while additional security forces had been deployed along the Kanwar route.
On Friday, ADG (Meerut Zone) Bhanu Bhaskar, DIG Kalanidhi Naithani, DM Dr VK Singh, CDO Nupur Goyal and SSP Avinash Pandey inspected the event venue, helipad and Kanwar route to review security and other arrangements.
The SP (City) monitored the movement of devotees, traffic flow and security management along the Kanwar route from Modipuram to Roorkee Road using drone cameras, the statement said.
Comprehensive arrangements have been made along the route for medical camps, drinking water, rest areas and sanitation. Special care is being taken to ensure that the Shiv devotees face no inconvenience whatsoever.
The chief minister’s visit is taking place at a time when the Kanwar Yatra in western Uttar Pradesh is at its peak, with hundreds of thousands of Shiv devotees carrying holy water from the Ganga from Haridwar to their destinations.
The Kanwar Yatra, which began on July 30 with the start of the holy month of Shravan, will culminate on August 11 with Sawan Shivratri, when devotees offer the holy Ganga water at Shiva temples. (PTI)
