Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday directed officials to ensure uniform arrangements for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra across the state, asserting that the safety, convenience and dignity of every devotee must remain the government’s highest priority. He also warned of stringent action against those attempting to spread rumours, create communal disharmony, indulge in food adulteration, overcharging or disrupt law and order during the pilgrimage. The Kanwar Yatra will begin on July 30 with the advent of the month of Shravan or Sawan.
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The chief minister also ordered strict enforcement of food safety norms. Meat and liquor shops on Kanwar routes are to remain closed, while officials have been directed to crack down on food adulteration, unhygienic conditions and overpricing. Shop owners must prominently display their names, and DJ sound systems must adhere to prescribed sound limits.
Reviewing preparations for Shravan and forthcoming festivals, the chief minister instructed senior officials to maintain seamless coordination among districts and with Kanwar organisations, while strengthening security through drones, CCTV surveillance, enhanced police patrolling and constant monitoring of social media platforms.
He instructed police to promptly counter misleading or fake content circulating on social media and take stringent action against those attempting to disturb communal harmony through misinformation.
Chairing a high-level meeting with senior government officials, Adityanath interacted with all police commissioners, divisional commissioners, district magistrates and senior superintendents of police to review preparedness for the Kanwar Yatra, Shravan Shivratri, Chehlum, Independence Day, Barawafat and Raksha Bandhan. The meeting assessed law and order, traffic management, health services, sanitation, disaster preparedness and public amenities across the state.
The chief minister directed that the Kanwar management model developed in the Meerut zone be shared with all other police zones to ensure uniform standards across Uttar Pradesh. He noted that the Kanwar Yatra is no longer confined to western Uttar Pradesh but attracts lakhs of devotees across Rohilkhand, Braj, Bundelkhand, Awadh and Purvanchal, making consistent administrative arrangements essential.
He instructed district administrations to maintain continuous dialogue with Kanwar organisations, complete verification of camp organisers well in advance and coordinate with authorities in Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttarakhand to ensure compliance with prescribed norms, including the permitted height of Kanwars.
Adityanath directed officials to repair damaged roads immediately and ensure uninterrupted street lighting, sanitation, drinking water, toilets and other civic amenities along the pilgrimage routes. Health authorities have been asked to establish fully equipped medical camps with adequate stocks of anti-venom, anti-rabies injections and other essential medicines. He said that separate changing rooms for women devotees should be provided at major river ghats, while public announcement systems should broadcast devotional music along with important advisories.
With water levels rising in several rivers, the chief minister also directed officials to tighten security at ghats and ensure advance preparedness for possible floods and riverbank erosion. He further instructed authorities to coordinate VIP movements in a manner that does not inconvenience Kanwar pilgrims.
Beyond festival preparations, Adityanath asked district officials to hold meetings with public representatives within the next two to three days to discuss local issues and upcoming government programmes, incorporating their suggestions into administrative planning.
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Reviewing governance issues, the chief minister stressed the time-bound disposal of revenue cases and directed that consolidation-related disputes be resolved strictly on merit so that they do not become a source of social tension.
Expressing concern over complaints of harassment of fair price shop dealers, he instructed district magistrates to ensure accountability of district supply officers. Any officer found guilty of corruption, he said, should face immediate suspension followed by an open vigilance inquiry and departmental as well as legal action.
The chief minister also directed power distribution companies to promptly address complaints of inflated electricity bills, making it clear that consumers should be charged only for their actual electricity consumption and should not suffer because of technical shortcomings in the billing system.
