People queued up since the wee hours to seek the blessing of Lord Shiva at the Mahakal Temple and also participated in the special ‘Bhasma Aarti’ of Baba Mahakal.
The villagers in Meerut staged a protest after six kanwariyas were electrocuted to death when their vehicle they were travelling in came in contact with an high-tension overhead wire in the Bhagwanpur area.
In the incident two of the members of the Mountain Rescue Team of J-K Police, identified as Mohammed Salem and Mohammed Yaseen, also injured while trying the rescue the lady, the police said.
According to officials, the incident took place in Bhawanpur's Rali Chauhan village in Meerut district when the vehicle of Kanwariyas came in contact with a low-hanging high-tension power line.
More than three crore devotees of Lord Shiva have, so far, thronged to Haridwar to collect holy water from the Ganges for "Jalabhishek" during the month of Saawan.
During the inspection, Alok Kumar visited all yatra camps en route from Srinagar to Baltal including Manigam, Neilgrath, Baltal Base Camp, Baltal Tent City and Domail.
The month of Sawan is considered to be sacred by Hindu devotees and is dedicated to Lord Shiva where the females keep fast adorning green, yellow and red bangles and beads.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday welcomed Lord Shiva devotees to Devbhoomi Uttarakhand and said that Haridwar is the centre of reverence for the whole country and the holy place has the special blessings of Mother Ganga and Lord Bholenath.
'Sawan' also known as 'Shravan' is the fifth month of the Hindu lunar calendar, and is considered one of the holiest months. Every Monday during this period is regarded as a highly auspicious time to fast and seek the blessings of Lord Shiva. This year Sawan will last for 58 days, from Ju
The holy month of 'Sawan' (Shravan) has commenced, and with great enthusiasm, a large number of devotees were seen visiting temples to offer prayers to Lord Shiva on Tuesday after bathing at 'Sangam' in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said on Monday, "The police will keep an eye on every detail of the Kanwar Yatra starting tomorrow. In addition to the 333 CCTVs, drone cameras are being used to monitor every zone."
Kanwariyas (pilgrims) visit places like Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch holy water from River Ganga and then worship Lord Shiva with it.