Moradabad: Indian Railways has made elaborate arrangements for devotees of the Kawar Yatra that begins today and has extended the run of two trains till Haridwar, officials have said.
The Northern Railways will also add coaches, and stoppages and extend the routes of five pairs of trains on a temporary basis. Delhi- Saharanpur and Delhi- Shamli passenger trains will operate till Haridwar.
"Additional coaches are being deployed by the railways, the same trains have been extended from July 13 to July 28 at Haridwar railway station, as well as three additional trains have been prepared by the railways due to the increase in the number of Kavad passengers, which have been prepared by the Haridwar district administration," said Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Sr DCM), Northern Railway (Moradabad Railway Division), Sudhir Kumar Singh.
A special train will also be operated and long route trains will halt at Raiwala and Motichur stations for the yatris.
The trains that will halt at Raiwala and Motichur railway stations for the convenience of the devotees include Doon- Subedarganj express, Doon- Ujjain express Doon- Indore express, Rishikesh- Kochuveli express, Vaishno Devi Katra- Rishikesh express and Rishikesh- Badmer express.
A mela special train will be operated daily between Moradabad and Luxar in Haridwar which will pass via Kaanth, Sentara, Dhampur, Nagina, Nazibabad, Mauzzampur and Balawali.
The officials also informed that while railway ticket checking staff, booking clerks and railway reservation clerks have been called by the railways from the second division of railways, the number of booking counters has also doubled.
Security arrangements have also been stepped up three extra trains are kept ready for emergency as well as 250 Railway Protection Force personnel (RPF) will be deployed for the safety of the pilgrims. Women battalion along with jawans have also been called to Haridwar railway station.
The 'Kanwar Yatra' is an annual pilgrimage of Lord Shiva's devotees. The Kanwariyas (pilgrims) visit places like Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch the holy water of River Ganga. They then worship God with the same water.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Kanwar Yatra in 2021 was cancelled in Uttarakhand and entry at 'Har ki Pauri' was also restricted. (ANI)
