Flouting rules, kanwar devotees armed with hockey sticks, lathis and trishuls

  • | Tuesday | 18th July, 2017

Meerut: Despite a ban on hockey sticks, lathis and trishuls longer than six inches, kanwariyas are seen flouting the rules with impunity.The top brass of UP, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana Police have issued instruction against carrying the hockey sticks, lathis and trishuls to prevent any violent incident. However, at the ground, several devotees were seen carrying the prohibited items.“We bring lathis every year, no one has objected previously. So hockey becomes a necessity for me during lonely stretches at night. It is more of a safety weapon for me in case someone attacks. Hockey sticks are for fun, we are bhole bhakts and we don’t harm anyone,” said Ashu Gujjar of Noida, accompanied by a group of stick-wielding kanwariyas.Some of the kanwariyas were however aware of the guidelines but they did not pay any heed to it.Among them was 67-year-old Ram Singh Chauhan.

Meerut: Despite a ban on hockey sticks, lathis and trishuls longer than six inches, kanwariyas are seen flouting the rules with impunity.The top brass of UP, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana Police have issued instruction against carrying the hockey sticks, lathis and trishuls to prevent any violent incident. However, at the ground, several devotees were seen carrying the prohibited items.“We bring lathis every year, no one has objected previously. Hockey sticks are for fun, we are bhole bhakts and we don’t harm anyone,” said Ashu Gujjar of Noida, accompanied by a group of stick-wielding kanwariyas.Some of the kanwariyas were however aware of the guidelines but they did not pay any heed to it.Among them was 67-year-old Ram Singh Chauhan. He said: “I am old now and can’t walk without a stick this far, due to some of these mischievous boys kanwariyas like me suffer.”Another Kanwariya, Pratap Singh, says, “I do not walk with any group and bring holy water quite early when not many kanwariyas are on the road. So hockey becomes a necessity for me during lonely stretches at night. It is more of a safety weapon for me in case someone attacks. But yes, there have been instances when this ‘weapon’ has been misused.Western UP being a communally-sensitive region, armed kanwariyas also pose a risk to the peace and tranquillity of the region and hence this year the ban decision was taken.Police, however, say that there is little they can do since religious sentiments are attached in such cases.SP city Maan Singh Chauhan, said, “We cannot enforce these instructions strictly here since the sentiments of people are attached with trishuls or even lathis that they carry during the kanwar yatra. Though there are very few who carry lathis or trishuls with them, luckily no violent incident has been reported in the area so far since the police is vigilant.”In the past years there have been several incidents of violence, especially during accidents when the devotees use these sticks and trishuls as weapons and it became difficult even for police to handle the mob.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Meerut Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles