UP govt bans sale of meat in open on Kanwar Yatra routes
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to prohibit the sale of meat in the open along the routes fixed for the Kanwar Yatra, which will commence from July 4.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued the directions in this regard while chairing a review meeting with senior officials, including police commissioners, divisional commissioners, district magistrates and superintendents of police, ahead of the upcoming festival season, an official statement said on Tuesday.
Adityanath said that this year due to "Adhimas" (additional month), Shravan is of two months duration. The festivals of Shravani Shivratri, Nagpanchami and Rakshabandhan will be celebrated during this period, he said.
"The traditional Kanwar Yatra will take place in the holy month of Shravan starting from July 4. Before this, Bakri Eid will be celebrated on June 29. This time is sensitive from the point of view of law and order. So, we have to be constantly alert and careful." he said.
"Respecting the belief of devotees, meat should not be allowed to be sold in the open on the Kanwar route. The route should remain clean and sanitised. There should be provision for streetlights. Since the weather is hot, arrangements for drinking water should also be made," the CM said.
According to the statement, Adityanath asked the officials to install CCTV cameras on the yatra route and also deploy divers. The places for setting up of Kanwar camps should be marked in advance so that traffic is not obstructed, he ordered.
The chief minister also directed officials to ensure that the sound level of DJ, music, etc to be used during the Kanwar procession is as per the prescribed standards.
"Give permission to the organisers of the event. But ensure that everyone follows the rules and regulations," he said.
Adityanath also directed that there should be no display of weapons in religious processions.
"Some mischievous elements may try to unnecessarily provoke people of other communities, keep an eye on such matters. Additional police force should be deployed in sensitive areas. The police force must do foot patrolling every evening. PRV 112 should remain active, and anarchic elements should be strongly dealt with," he said.
At the meeting, the chief minister also noted that during Ramzan, traffic was not affected due to religious activities.
"This effort has been appreciated across the country. This time, on the occasion of Bakri Eid and Muharram, we will have to implement the same system. A dialogue should be made with the respective religious leaders/intellectuals in this regard by the local administration," he said.
He added that the place for the sacrifice on Bakri Eid should be marked in advance.
"Sacrifice should not be done anywhere other than the previously marked place. In any case, make sure that no prohibited animal is sacrificed anywhere. There should be an action plan for the systematic disposal of waste after sacrifice in every district," he said.
Last year during Shravan, about one crore devotees of Lord Shiva offered worship at Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, and nearly six lakh people visited the temple every Monday during the holy month.
Adityanath said due to "Adhimas" this year, a further increase in the number of devotees, who arrive in the state from all over the country, is possible.
Along with Varanasi, the local administration in Ayodhya and Sitapur should also make a systematic action plan in coordination with the temple administration, the statement said.
The CM also directed the officials on the issue of religious conversion of children through gaming/chatting apps.
"Incidents of illegal religious conversions have come to light in many parts of the country in recent times. We are familiar with the incident of conversion of teenage children through online gaming/chatting apps in Ghaziabad. It is very necessary to control such anti-social and anti-national incidents in time," Adityanath said.
He further stated that the action of illegal religious conversion is being done by an international syndicate.
"This syndicate keeps an eye on disabled children and youths looking for jobs. Financial temptations are also being given. This entire syndicate of illegal religious conversion needs to be wiped out. Prompt action should be taken against any such activity," he said.
Adityanath directed that senior officers posted at police stations, circle, district, range, zone, and division levels should communicate with religious leaders of their respective areas and other eminent people of society. "Issue a positive message for the people. Have a meeting of the peace committee. Take the cooperation of the media, so that an atmosphere of peace and harmony prevails," he said.
The CM also said that the 'Safe City Project' is proving to be extremely useful in fulfilling the promise of women's safety, respect and self-reliance. "Within the next three months, we will have to develop all the 17 municipal corporations and Gautam Budh Nagar district headquarters as safe cities," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Empowering Future Generations on World Tsunami Awareness Day - Learning from the Past
It was a holiday, everyone at home was relaxing. My sister-in-law and I decided to prepare a light breakfast and planned a special biryani for lunch. With this decision, we set about cleaning the house and getting other chores done. Suddenly, I felt as if I were going to faint. I mentioned it to my sister-in-law, who was in the kitchen at the time, telling her, “I feel like I’m going to fall.” She responded, “It's not dizziness, it’s an earthquake! Run!”
We both dashed to our respective rooms to pick our children and joined the rest of the family outside on the road.
It was December 26, 2004, at precisely 7:58:53 in the morning, a massive earthquake, measuring between 9.2 and 9.3 in magnitude, struck off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Known to the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, this underwater mega thrust earthquake was caused by the rupture between the Burma and Indian tectonic plates. Though theoretically, the Richter scale has no upper limit, in practice, earthquakes of magnitude greater than 8.6 are rarely recorded.
This was a new and terrifying experience for me; it felt as though the world was ending. The earthquake was marked by the longest fault rupture ever recorded, spanning between 1,200 to 1,300 kilometers (around 720 to 780 miles), and the faulting itself lasted for an unprecedented ten minutes. The planet’s surface trembled by as much as 10 millimeters (0.4 inches), and the quake was powerful enough to trigger tremors in remote regions like Alaska.
Once the ground ceased its violent shaking, we all, shaken and sharing our fear and disbelief, made our way back inside. Unaware that this was only the beginning, we noticed that both electricity and phone lines were down. Those who had ventured out early to gather essentials returned with alarming news: “The water is rising!” At that moment, none of us in these islands knew what that meant. Soon, our world would change forever as we encountered, for the first time, the word "tsunami"- a phenomenon that was about to become the world's first global disaster.
This massive tsunami resulted from an underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean. It devastated fourteen countries with approximately 230,000 deaths globally. At Andaman and Nicobar alone, official statistics confirm 3,077 persons missing declared dead. Over 50,000 persons from the local population residing on both islands were ravaged by these waves with, perhaps, many other silent lives engulfed by those mighty waves. Entire livelihoods were destroyed as sea water ruined the agricultural land in Nicobar Islands while submerging large areas of farmland in South Andaman. Since then, December 26th comes to be known as 'Boxing Day' in these islands.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the disaster, today, the 5th November commemorates the event known as Inamura-no-hi of 1854, when Japanese farmer Hamaguchi Goryō foresaw the approach of a tsunami following an earthquake.He noticed the warning sign and set fire to his paddy sheaves to warn his village so that they could save themselves before the disaster struck. This is one of the earliest examples of He noticed the warning sign and set fire to his paddy sheaves to warn his village so that they could save themselves before the disaster struck. This is one of the earliest examples of community preparedness in the face of natural disasters.
The observance underscores the need for community awareness about the risks of tsunamis since more than 700 million people live along vulnerable coastlines. It also focuses on the strengthening of global cooperation to increase tsunami readiness, especially as the population density in coastal regions continues to rise.
The lead agency of the UN for coordinating disaster risk reduction is the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, known as UNDRR, in the UK. Using its area of expertise, it helps strengthen partnerships with national and local governments, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, and the private sector.
The observance reminds global leaders the need for community awareness about the risks of tsunamis since more than 700 million people live along vulnerable coastlines. It also focuses on the strengthening of global cooperation to increase tsunami readiness, especially as the population density in coastal regions continues to rise.
The lead agency of the UN for coordinating disaster risk reduction is the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, known as UNDRR, in the UK. Using its area of expertise, it helps strengthen partnerships with national and local governments, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, and the private sector. This year’s theme for World Tsunami Awareness Day resonates with the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Summit of the Future, emphasizing the role of “youth and future generations.” With the campaign #AreYouReady24, observance activities aim to honor the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami by passing on valuable lessons to today’s youth. UNDRR is encouraging tsunami-prone nations to enhance evacuation routes, install updated warning systems, and promote awareness among children and young people. Additionally, they invite youth and educational institutions to engage with the *Stop Disasters* online game, fostering practical knowledge on saving lives during disasters.
The memories of this tsunami unleashed by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake which, 20 years on, released energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs taking only 15 minutes to 7 hours to devastate fourteen countries and killing over 230,000 people are a potent reminder of the catastrophic consequences in the event of inadequate preparation. We have to learn from this tragedy so that the same mistake does not happen in the future. The administration should give emphasis to efficient disaster risk management and resilient early warning systems so that vulnerable communities are protected from such serious disasters.
