Kanwar Yatra Begins Amid School Closures, Flower Showers and Reports of Stone Pelting in UP
New Delhi: Several districts in Uttar Pradesh have ordered a temporary closure of schools, colleges, universities and technical institutes as the district administrations imposed safety and traffic management measures amid the ongoing Kanwar Yatra. This is among the many restrictions implemented in light of the annual pilgrimage that, in recent years, has been frequently marred by communal violence, vandalism and harassment.
During Kanwar Yatra, kanwariyas, or Shiva devotees, fetch ‘sacred’ water from river Ganga and carry it on their shoulders for hundreds of miles as they walk on foot to offer it in their shrines, often in Hindu pilgrimage sites like Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
In Uttar Pradesh, which typically sees the highest rush of devotees, districts including Meerut, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar have issued orders for closure of government and private schools, along with nurseries, colleges, universities and technical institutions.
Meerut and Ghaziabad authorities have announced a closure across educational institutions from August 4-12 but permitted them to conduct examinations scheduled before announcement.
Baghpat administration announced the closure of government and private schools from Classes 1-12 from August 3-12, whereas Muzaffarnagar closed schools and colleges from August 3-10.
Flower petals on kanwariyas
The Uttar Pradesh government has gone all out with their preparations to ensure the Yatra is conducted in a grand, safe and orderly manner for the devotees. According to a report by NDTV, on western UP’s major routes, kanwariyas will be even showered with an aerial floral welcome from helicopters across seven districts on August 9 and 10.
Similar greetings were conducted on August 2. Senior police officials, including the additional directors general of police, and district magistrates participated in this greeting.
The detailed schedule issued by the state government mentioned that the helicopter would depart from Lucknow for Baghpat around 8 am on August 9, shower flower petals on kanwariyas in the Baghpat region from 10:30 am to 11:15 am, then fly to Saharanpur, for another floral welcome from 11:45 am to 12:45 pm. The same would be done in Muzaffarnagar from 1:30 pm to 2:15 pm, followed by Meerut from 3:45 pm to 4:30 pm.
Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand today (August 4), chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed kanwariyas in Haridwar by washing their feet.
मुख्यमंत्री पुष्कर सिंह धामी ने आज शिव भक्त कांवड़ियों के पैर धोकर उनको भोजन कराया। इसके साथ ही सफाईकर्मियों और पुलिसकर्मियों को भी सम्मानित किया।#Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/QdwtXhOLwV
— CM Office Uttarakhand (@ukcmo) August 4, 2026
Stones pelted in Lucknow
On Monday (August 3), the first Somwar of the Yatra, a school van carrying students was reportedly attacked with stones allegedly by a group of youth on motorcycles who were part of the Kanwar Yatra, at Charak Crossing in the Chowk police station limits in Lucknow.
According to The Hindu, the driver of the school van, Amir, in his complaint alleged that the group had thrown stones at the vehicle and even threatened to kill him before fleeing the scene. The Lucknow Police has booked three individuals, although their identities have not been confirmed and a search is on to trace them.
In July last year, Delhi’s culture and tourism minister Kapil Mishra had alleged that “some miscreants deliberately threw glass on the Kanwar Yatra route” in Northeast Delhi’s Shahdara. The Wire had reported how the incident was turned into a conspiracy, even as it was revealed that an e-rickshaw carrying glass panels to a nearby locality met with an accident at the spot. The e-rickshaw driver was even arrested, in sync with a series of events that have tied the Yatra with Hindutva politics.
This article went live on August fourth, two thousand twenty six, at one minutes past five in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
