Workers clean up accumulated waste after the conclusion of the annual ‘Kanwar Yatra’, near ghat at Har Ki Pauri, in Haridwar, Uttarakhand on Thursday (August 13, 2026).
| Photo Credit: PTI

For Kanwaljeet, a 34-year-old coaching teacher, crossing the Grand Trunk Road near Dilshad Garden metro station meant a half-kilometre detour. Huge Kanwar camps have come up along the road, while traffic diversions, road closures and restrictions on flyovers have reshaped the movement of motorists and residents.

As thousands of Kanwariyas pass through Delhi, the annual pilgrimage has brought elaborate arrangements and growing inconvenience for those who live and work along its route.

Kanwar Yatra 2026: Traffic restrictions in Delhi, U.P., and Haryana

“I am pregnant and walking all the way to the other side to find a rickshaw is a hassle for me,” Ms. Kanwaljeet said.

On Saturday, saffron-clad Kanwariyas of all ages streamed along the Grand Trunk Road, some stopping at camps set up along the route, as CRPF personnel, Delhi Police and traffic police kept watch and diverted citizens and motorists away from the lanes reserved for the pilgrims.

“For 15 days, the area is closed to motorists. Office-goers and residents of Sonia Camp, which falls along the GT Road, have to take longer routes to their workplaces and homes,” said Mohammad Shameem, an e-rickshaw driver.

“The area is closed to motorists fearing an escalation and violence if any vehicle even brushes against a ‘Bhole’ (Kanwariya). People have no option but to adjust,” he added.

Waseem, a delivery person, echoed similar views. “I had to travel four kilometres further, pass through smaller streets and arterial roads to get here to deliver a parcel. While the space for Kanwariyas passing through seems to expand year by year, the problems faced by commuters and residents are not considered before making such elaborate arrangements,” he said.

While some residents said they were inconvenienced, others said they were fine with the changes. “If it helps fellow citizens connect with their religion, minor adjustments can be made,” said Rahul Sharma, an accountant.

More pomp than faith

With the commencement of the Kanwar Yatra on July 30, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi directed all unauthorised meat shops to close. Mohammad Shabbir, who runs a licensed biryani shop in Jhilmil Colony, said he had stopped selling biryani since the beginning of the pilgrimage.

“Most people voluntarily shut shops fearing challans and action by the authorities,” he said, adding that he only sells vegetables during this period.

Muslim residents said that the arrangements also included covering mosques that fall along the route of the Kanwariyas and offering namaz only inside the mosques.

Commercial establishments adjacent to the metro station said their businesses had suffered because of the road closures.

“Customer inflow is significantly less, despite it being a Saturday,” said a salesperson at a food outlet.

‘No the same’

Sukhdev Goswami, a 65-year-old tea seller, said that while his business had boomed with the arrival of the Kanwariyas, he did not quite see the charm of earlier days.

“DJs, loudspeakers, boom boxes remind me of a time when chanting of ‘saanki’ (religious couplets) was enough to tell the masses that Kanwariyas were here,” he said.

“It is a matter of discipline that the whole family follows and not just the person undertaking the pilgrimage. Everything, from how the Kanwar is to be carried to the food and drink the Kanwariya consumes, is defined by rules. Teenagers consuming alcohol and dancing to vulgar songs will not understand this. It shows immaturity to indulge in these things, and indiscipline to let violence prevail,” he said when asked what changes he had observed over the years.

Usha Sharma, a schoolteacher in Jahangirpuri, said the size and decoration of Kanwars had more to do with pomp and a display of wealth than faith.

“Luxury cars, decoration with currency notes, oversized displays besides loud and vulgar music — is that a reflection of faith or wealth?” she said.

“The mahila mandal (women’s organisation) in our area used to organise camps for Kanwars, but in recent times, we have only seen excesses and vulgarities increasing,” she added.

Published – August 09, 2026 02:12 am IST

Congestion on the Delhi-Haridwar Expressway in Haridwar on Sunday (August 9, 2026), due to the ongoing Kanwar Yatra.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visits Kanwar Seva camps and interacts with devotees during the ongoing Kanwar Yatra at the Delhi-UP border, in New Delhi on August 8, 2026. Photo: @gupta_rekha X/ANI Photo

Kanwarias on their way. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

A fact-finding panel has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that more than 17,600 trees have been felled in three districts of Uttar Pradesh to make way for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra route.

The tribunal was hearing a case related to the alleged felling of more than one lakh trees and shrubs in the protected forest area across the three forest divisions of Ghaziabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar for the proposed route between Muradnagar in Ghaziabad and Purkaji in Muzaffarnagar.

In an Order dated November 6, a Bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that a Joint Committee formed earlier to ascertain facts had submitted its interim report.

The Committee comprised the Forest Survey of India director, a senior scientist from the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, the State’s Chief Secretary or his representative and the Meerut district magistrate.

“The interim report states that as per the information furnished by the Irrigation Department, 17,607 trees have been cut in all three districts till August 9, 2024,” said the Bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A. Senthil Vel.

The tribunal noted that while permission was granted to fell 1,12,722 trees, it had later been decided to cut only 33,776 trees.

It said, “The State of Uttar Pradesh is directed to clarify if the number of trees to be cut has been calculated strictly in accordance with the provisions of the U.P. Protection of Trees Act.”

The tribunal directed the Additional Chief Secretary of the State’s Environment Department to file an affidavit within two weeks, stating the number of trees that will be cut in the course of the construction of the route.

“It will also be clearly stated if trees have been cut beyond the width of 15 to 20 metres and, if yes, the person responsible for it,” it added.

Uttar Pradesh cannot go on with Kanwar Yatra, says Supreme Court

“Considering the fact that the seriousness of the issue relating to a public project, the Joint Committee is expected to complete the exercise as directed, expeditiously and submit the final report without any delay,” the tribunal added.

The tribunal also noted the Surveyor General’s earlier statement on October 16 about conducting a drone survey to identify the extent of trees cut on both sides of the canals.

It, however, said, “From the report submitted by the Survey of India that information cannot be gathered.” “Hence, we direct the Surveyor General, Survey of India, to trace out the satellite imagery of the stretches under consideration for the year 2024 (till October 2024) and file a fresh report showing the comparative position of trees which were existing in 2023 and trees fell till October 2024 in the stretches under consideration.” The matter has been posted for further proceedings on November 25.

Agra:

A member of a right-wing group carrying a ‘kanwar’ on her shoulders tried to enter the Taj Mahal to offer ‘Gangajal’ on Monday, with the group claiming that the monument was a Lord Shiva temple called ‘Tejo Mahalaya’. However, she was stopped by the policemen of ‘Taj Suraksha’ deployed at the barrier of the west gate of the Taj Mahal.

She was stopped at the barrier of the west gate and was not able to enter the Taj Mahal, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Taj Suraksha, Syed Areeb Ahmad told PTI.

“After some time, she decided on her own to offer the ‘Gangajal’ at the Rajeshwar temple,” Ahmad added.

Meenu Rathore, who claimed herself to be the district president of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha in Agra, insisted police officials allow her to offer the ‘Gangajal’ in “Tejo Mahalaya”.

She further claimed that Lord Shiva came in her dreams and asked her to offer the ‘Gangajal’ at the monument.

“I came to Tejo Mahalaya to offer the ‘Gangajal’. Lord Shiv called me in my dreams and I brought kanwar to offer at Tejo Mahalaya. But, they (policemen) have stopped me from going ahead,” Rathore said.

Sanjay Jaat, a spokesperson of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, said, “It is our right to offer the ‘Ganga Jal’ in Taj Mahal as Taj Mahal is ‘Tejo Mahalaya’, a temple of Lord Shiva. She brought kanwar from Soron ji in Kasganj and reached Agra after two days.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Uttar Pradesh government has firmly opposed petitions challenging its directive requiring shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their names prominently.

In a detailed submission to the Supreme Court, the state government said that the directive was issued to ensure a peaceful and orderly pilgrimage.

The Kanwar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage where devotees of Lord Shiva, known as Kanwariyas, travel to fetch holy water from the Ganges River, sees millions of participants each year. 

The Uttar Pradesh government claimed that the directive was introduced in response to specific complaints from Kanwariyas. Pilgrims had allegedly raised concerns about the food being served along the route, which led to apprehensions regarding its preparation in line with religious practices.

The opposition has targetted the government calling the directive ‘anti-muslim’ and aimed at creating divisions within the society.

Bhopal:

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has clarified that it has not issued any instructions requiring shop owners to display their names along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state, and there is no such compulsion.

Amidst a row in Uttar Pradesh over a directive to highlight shop owners’ names on eateries along the Yatra route, the MP government has asked urban bodies to refrain from spreading any confusion.

A statement was issued by the Urban Development and Housing Department (UDHD) on Sunday night, days after the Ujjain mayor claimed shop owners had been directed to display their names and phone numbers on boards.

No instructions have been issued at the state government level regarding writing the names of shop owners on boards of their establishments along the Kanwar Yatra routes in urban areas, the UDHD stated.

Ujjain mayor Mukesh Tatwal last week cited a purported decision of the mayor-in-council dated September 26, 2002, and claimed a proposal asking shopkeepers to display their names had been approved.

He claimed the approval was forwarded to the state government for objections and all formalities have been completed.

Stating that such reports are inaccurate, the UDHD instructed urban bodies to avoid spreading confusion regarding directives to shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route, emphasising that Madhya Pradesh Outdoor Advertisement Media Rules, 2017, do not compel shop owners to display their names on boards.

“Boards can be put up on shops under the Madhya Pradesh Outdoor Advertisement Media Rules, 2017. There is no compulsion to display the name of the shop owner on these boards,” the UDHD stated.

Following the mayor’s comments, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation also confirmed that no proposal is in place to mandate the display of names and phone numbers on shop boards in the city.

Separately, BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola had written to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, expressing support for shop owners to proudly display their names.

Mr Mendola argued that the display of names is a matter of personal pride and customer right, and not something to be mandated or discouraged.

“Every small and big trader, businessman, and shopkeeper in Madhya Pradesh will experience a sense of pride in telling their names,” the MLA stated.

In Uttar Pradesh, the controversy began when Muzaffarnagar police ordered eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display owners’ names to avoid confusion. This directive has faced criticism from opposition parties and some ruling alliance members who argue that it unfairly targets Muslim traders.

The BJP government in UP extended this order statewide on Friday, while Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar instructions are already in place in his state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Food, and who cooks and serves at restaurants, was at the core of arguments in the Supreme Court Monday as it heard petitions against a police directive to eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh – to display names of owners and employees “to ensure… no confusion…”

The opposition has slammed the directive and at least three allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose support at the centre is crucial to the BJP, and union ministers Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party).

“You go to a restaurant depending on the menu, not who is serving. The idea of directive is exclusion by identity. This is not the republic we envisaged in Constitution…” senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners said.

“There are a lot of ‘pure vegetarian’ restaurants run by Hindus… but they may have Muslim employees. Can I say I won’t eat there? Because food is somehow ‘touched’ by them?”

Last week police in UP’s Muzaffarnagar mandated all food joints along the route to prominently display names of owners. “This is being done to ensure there is no confusion among kanwariyas, and no allegations are raised in the future, leading to a law and order situation,” the cops said.

“Everyone is following this of their own free will…” the police said at a press conference.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that this move was to ensure no ‘Kanwariya’ buys anything from a Muslim owner’s shop.

New Tehri:

Four kanwariyas from Haryana have been arrested in Uttarakhand for allegedly attacking a parking lot employee with swords following an argument over parking fee, police said on Sunday.

The employee suffered a serious injury to his head in the incident that took place on Saturday evening in the Janaki Pul parking lot near the Neelkanth temple. The accused had kept their tractor-trolley there, Muni ki Reti police station in-charge Ritesh Shah said.

Kanwariyas are Shiv devotees who travel to collect water from the Ganga from states it passes through. They use the water to perform the ‘jalabhishek’ of the deity in temples in areas they hail from during the Hindu holy month of Sawan.

Shah said after visiting the temple, when the kanwariyas reached the parking lot, Balam Singh Bisht, Ajay and Subhash asked for parking fee. There was an argument and the accused attacked Bisht with swords, the officer said.

A case was registered on a complaint from the parking lot’s contractor Rahul Gupta and Mahant Saurabh Giri Naga Baba (40), Divya alias Deepu (19), Rajat (19) and Arun (18), all residents of Haryana’s Sonipat, were arrested, Shah said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)