CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday held a review meeting with administrative and police officials regarding the preparations for the upcoming Kanwar Mela 2025 through video conferencing. The Chief Minister reviewed the arrangements of the previous years and analyzed the challenges from the point of view of law and order and asked to ensure corrective steps so that there is no repetition this year. He said that effective crowd control, traffic management and security arrangements should be ensured to prevent any kind of vandalism, nuisance or other undesirable incidents in this mega religious event. Complete verification of camp operators, working persons, volunteers and persons staying in hotels / dharamshalas should be done.
The Chief Minister directed to ensure the deployment of X-ray systems, fire extinguishers, fire tenders and personnel at all major sites. At the same time, special monitoring on the quality of food and beverages and strong arrangements for the prevention of water-borne diseases should be made. He stressed on taking the help of volunteers in crowd management, continuous monitoring with CCTV and drones and keeping the information system active. He directed to make a separate plan for better traffic arrangements and give it wide publicity so that devotees do not face inconvenience. Instructions were given to ensure deployment of ATS and special security forces in view of terrorist threats. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami asked for ambulance and backup arrangements at the ghats of Haridwar, Neelkanth Mahadev temple and other prominent places, adequate deployment of men and women security personnel in plain clothes and divers and water police equipped with disaster relief equipment to be put on alert mode.
The Chief Minister also directed that the use of loudspeakers, DJs and loudspeakers should be regulated on the yatra routes. Corrective actions should be taken by identifying black spots to prevent accidents. Do’s and Don’ts should be communicated to Kanwar Yatris through pamphlets, hoardings, public announcements and social media. The Chief Minister asked for a campaign to stop Kanwariyas from carrying lathis, sticks, sharp objects etc. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami also directed to strictly enforce the ban on sale of drugs, liquor and meat in the yatra routes and ensure basic amenities like proper electricity, water, medical facilities. In view of the increasing number of women kanwariyas, special police arrangements were asked to be ensured at Mahila Ghats and Dharmshalas for their security. Instructions were given to increase inter-state coordination, exchange information immediately, monitor social media, take strict action against rumour mongers and ensure immediate rebuttal of related posts.
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami directed all the Divisional Secretaries and Inspector Generals of Police to conduct on-the-spot inspection of the Kanwar Mela area in the next three days to review the preparedness and finalize the action plans of their respective departments. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Inspector General of Police Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary, Secretary of the Public Security Division of Home Ministry Mostafa Kamal Uddin and Additional IGP (admin) Mokhlesur Rahman addressed the function. Department of Information and Public Relations