Kanwar Yatra: How devotees are adjusting to Delhi’s camps

Delhi has acted as a temporary home to almost two million Kanwar Yatra devotees, who have passed the national capital to visit the pilgrimage sites over the last 10 days.

As many as 185 camps for the devotees have been set up across the city by the Delhi government, with many of them functioning for the past 20 years. The camps are being organised and managed by multiple civil societies in the national capital.

Delhi government minister Atishi had notified that Shahdara district has the maximum number of camps with 38, while North East Delhi has 29, Central has 22 and East Delhi has 19.

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Various other camps have also been set up across the national capital in other localities.

According to kanwariyas, the biggest camp is located at Kashmere Gate, near the ISBT, where almost 10,000 yatris have dropped in to rest over the past two days.

Inside the camp, the devotees have been provided with essential commodities such as a resting place with multiple beds, a dining area with catering facilities, a counter for fruits, shikanji and evening snacks. However, not every devotee is pleased with the preparations.

Angad Verma, a resident of Uttam Nagar, said that he and his group decided to leave because of insufficient space.

“There is not enough space for us to sleep. We have been resting at the outer area in front of the bathrooms because of that very reason. They did not consider that we will be needing more space,” he said.

Another resident of Uttam Nagar, Sachin, said he was lucky to get space and food.

“A lot of people come here looking for respite. Some are resting inside the Kashmere Gate metro station because they did not get enough space here. It is sheerly by luck that we got some space here. They have supplied us with everything, starting from a bed to food which has been very well made,” he said.

Sonu Sharma, a resident of Central district’s Burari, said that the arrangements made are not enough for the number of people they have provided space to.

“Considering the space that they have, it is obviously not enough for 2,000 people at a time. Although the dining area is sufficient, yet the resting area is not enough for all of us. Many of them are resting and lying on the ground at the entry gate,” he said.

Rajkumar Ahuja, one of the organisers, said that the camp has been seeing an inflow of tens of thousands of devotees.

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“Over 10,000 people have come here since yesterday and right now, there are over 2,500 devotees here. We have prepared separate spaces for them to eat and rest. We are even providing them with shikanji and fruit juice to freshen themselves, besides giving them fruits like banana, apple, pineapple and watermelon,” he said.

The camp has served as a resting space for Shiva devotees from the national capital, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and other such places.

They pass through Delhi to reach the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Ajgaivinath, Sultanganj in Bhagalpur, Bihar to get holy water of the River Ganges.

The Kanwar Yatra started on July 22 and is slated to end on August 2.