Adityanath reviews preparations for festivals, bans meat sale on Kanwar Yatra route

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday decided to ban the sale and purchase of meat in the open along the route of Kanwar Yatra during the holy month of Shravan which begins July 22.

In view of the upcoming festivals, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed the preparations regarding law and order and successful organisation of these festivals, and gave necessary guidelines to the officials, according to an official statement.

Adityanath said, "The holy month of Shravan is starting from July 22. During this period, Shravani Shivratri, Nagpanchami and Rakshabandhan will be celebrated. Traditional Kanwar Yatra will be held." Besides, Jagannath Rath Yatra will be celebrated from July 7-9, Moharram on July 17-18, and Guru Purnima on July 21, the statement said.

In the wake of these festivals, "everyone needs to be alert and cautious", Adityanath told the officials in the review meeting.

He also said that from the point of view of the traditional Kanwar Yatra, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Ayodhya, Bareilly, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Barabanki, Basti, and the districts bordering Uttarakhand are very important.

The local administration should maintain coordination between the districts within the state and between the border districts and other states, the CM said.

"Traditionally, music and dance have been a part of the Kanwar Yatra. Ensure that the sound of DJ, music etc., is as per the prescribed standards," he said.

Adityanath directed that "respecting the faith of devotees", there should be "no open sale and purchase of meat" anywhere on the Kanwar Yatra route.

"Cleanliness and sanitization should be maintained on the Yatra route. There should be a good arrangement of streetlights," he said.

Arrangements for crowd management, route diversion, and deployment of police force and CCTV cameras should be made in time, the CM directed.

Adityanath also said that during the Shravan month, a large number of devotees visit Shiva temples on Monday in every village, town and city. In such a situation, the environment around the Shiva temples should be clean, he said.

Necessary action should be taken in this regard by the Panchayati Raj and Urban Development Department, he said, adding that it should be ensured that banned polythene bags are not used at all.

The places for setting up Kanwar camps should be identified in advance so that traffic is not disrupted, the statement said.

Regarding Muharram, Adityanath said that the local administration should establish dialogue and coordination with the peace committees associated with the Tazia taken out during the Muharram procession.

Taking lessons from last year's Tazia processions when some accidents had taken place, the government directed that all necessary arrangements should be made this year to avoid any such incidents.

"The height of Tazias should be as per tradition. Unnecessarily oversized Tazia, which can cause accidents, should not be included in the procession," Adityanath said.

The CM directed that there should not be any display of weapons in religious yatras/processions in the state.

He also directed that Tazias should be kept only where there is no dispute of any kind.

Directing the officials to keep an eye on mischievous elements, Adityanath said, "Mischievous elements can make malicious attempts to unnecessarily provoke people of other communities. Keep an eye on such elements. We have to remain alert all the time, so that no one can breach the security. Monitor with drones as well." He said that as the rainy season has begun, the emergency health services should be in alert mode.

"Communicable disease control campaign and School Chalo Abhiyan are also to be organized. It is clear that the month starting from tomorrow is important and sensitive from many aspects including law and order, medical and health, and education. Everyone needs to be alert and cautious," the CM said.

He added that all necessary arrangements should be made in time for the convenience of the devotees coming to the Shravan fair in Ayodhya.