LUCKNOW: Buckling under the pressure of outrage following the order asking hotels, dhabas, eateries and other shops falling on the route of the Kanwar Yatra to display the names of the proprietors and shopkeepers in Muzaffarnagar, the district police on Thursday issued a reviewed order leaving it to the “free will” of shopkeepers and eatery owners to display their names on their establishments.
However, the Muzaffarnagar police denied that its direction was intended to discriminate against people along religious lines.
The Muzaffarnagar and the Saharanpur police authorities had released the order on Wednesday, asking hotels, dhabas and other shops that sell food along the Kanwar Yatra route in the district to display the names of their owners and employees to prevent any confusion among devotees.
Muzaffarnagar superintendent of police Abhishek Singh had said the state government also asked food carts and stands to comply.
He said the reason for the decision was to ensure that the Kanwariyas did not get confused and so that “no situation arises where there are allegations and recriminations turning into a law and order situation.”
The Kanwar Yatra is an annual affair undertaken by the devotees of Lord Shiva in the month of ‘Shravan,’ wherein they travel to Uttarakhand on foot to collect water from the river Ganga and then offer it to various temples of Lord Shiva.
The yatra will begin on July 22 and conclude on August 3 with the offering of ‘Gangajal’ by Kanwariyas in temples of their respective native places on Shivratri, August 2.
More than three crore (30 million) Shiva devotees from West UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttarakhand are expected to take part in the yatra this year. Officials have formed a comprehensive plan to ensure a safe and hassle-free yatra in their respective states and districts.
However, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Saharanpur, Ajay Kumar Sahni said on Thursday that hotels and dhabas along the Kanwar Yatra route in his district were also ordered to display the names of their owners and employees as well as their rate lists.
Interacting with media persons, Sahni said this was in light of past disputes with Kanwariyas regarding eateries’ rate lists, the serving of non-vegetarian food or proprietors drawing the names for their hotels from religions other than their own.
It is pertinent to mention here that like every year, this year also the UP government has prohibited the sale and purchase of meat in the open along Kanwar Yatra route in the state as a mark of ‘respect’ for devotees.
In a meeting convened to review the preparations for yatra, UP CM Yogi Adityanath instructed officials to set up help desks along the pilgrimage route and arrange for the distribution of chilled water and lemon water.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav had urged the courts to take suo motu cognisance of the Muzaffarnagar police order calling it a “social crime.” The SP chief had also urged the courts to “take appropriate punitive action.”
