Express News Service
DEHRADUN: As the Kanwar Yatra stands cancelled for the second consecutive year due to Covid-19 pandemic, Uttarakhand postal circle is all geared up to deliver the holy ‘Gangajal’ to the doorsteps of thousands of devotees across the country.
“We are equipped to supply and deliver the ‘Gangajal’ anywhere in the country at the doorstep of the devotees. We have the resources, the means and a very robust mechanism as we have been doing this for years now,” Sunil Kumar Rai, director of postal services, Uttarakhand told this newspaper. Earlier, this week Uttarakhand CM announced the cancellation of the yatra citing Covid-19. In such a situation, the services of the postal circle will assume more importance than ever.
From April 2021 to June 2021, the circle has supplied total 45,648 bottles of Gangajal across the country. In the year 2020, from April-June, a total of 42,228 bottles or 10,572 liters of Gangajal was delivered across India. In the year 2019, it delivered a total of 42,960 bottles of Gangajal between April and June. Meanwhile, the state government has promised to deliver the holy water at devotees’ doorstep through tankers.
The district administration of Haridwar is planning to transport Gangajal in tankers to the neighboring UP from where a large number of pilgrims had registered for the yatra. “The plans are afoot to supply Gangajal in tankers and we are in talks with neighbouring states to avoid large number of gathering in Haridwar,” said C Ravishankar, district magistrate, Haridwar.
The department’s ‘Ganga Prahris’ collect the water from Gangotri. The water then undergoes purification through the process of sedimentation before it’s bottled. The holy water is then supplied to around 3,000 post offices across 22 postal cricles of the country. More than 30 people work over 12 hours daily to ensure that the holy water is delivered to the door step.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand police is gearing up to ensure that no Kanwar Yatri enters the Haridwar. State police officials said forces will be deployed on border with Uttar Pardesh to ensure that pilgrims don’t enter from the state.
