Kawad yatra: Delhi-Haridwar highway closed for traffic

Muzaffarnagar: With a view of ensuring smooth and peaceful transit of kawad pilgrims, traffic plying on Delhi-Haridwar national highway has been diverted till July 25 to prevent any untoward incident.

The traffic from Delhi to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Roorkee and Haridwar highway has been shifted to alternative routes, SSP HN Singh told reporters. The kawad yatra which started from July 13 will conclude on July 25 with the kawad pilgrims offering the water from Ganga to Lord Shiva. Meanwhile, District Magistrate Koshal Raj Sharma said that CCTV cameras have been?installed in all sensitive places for security. Mobile vans with policemen in plain clothes have been deployed on the routes of the kawad pilgrims, he said. All schools up to inter classes have been closed from today up to July 25 in view of kawad yatra, he added. Kawad pilgrims are Lord Shiva devotees who gather at Haridwar every year to take a dip in Ganga and carry water from the river to offer to Lord Shiva.