Dehra Dun, June 16
The Uttarakhand government today deployed heavy police force at Nagrasu in Rudraprayag district as tension prevailed on the Hemkund yatra route following a clash between a group of pilgrims from Punjab and locals yesterday. More than 50 vehicles were damaged and six pilgrims were injured in the incident.
Rudraprayag District Magistrate Sachin Kurve today told The Tribune that the situation was well under control and the pilgrims were moving safely between Hemkund Sahib and Rishikesh.
He said a group of pilgrims from Punjab had clashed with the staff of a ‘dhaba’ and that became a free for all between the locals and the pilgrims. Sticks, stones and cold drink bottles were used by both groups to attack each other. Windowpanes of more than 50 vehicles were smashed by the crowd protesting against the behaviour of the ‘outsiders’.
Sachin Kurve and SP Niru Garg reached the spot in the afternoon and tried to control the situation. Senior officers appealed to both groups to show restraint and the locals were asked to remain inside their houses. The vehicles of the pilgrims were later escorted by the police force.
Ashok Kumar, IG, Garhwal range, said two platoons of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and some additional police force from other police stations had been sent to the affected areas.
Tension was brewing in the area following a fight between two pilgrims and a local shopkeeper on Saturday. This year, this was the third incident of fight between the locals and the pilgrims in Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts. Most of the quarrels are on the payment of dues of food at the local dhabas. The locals perceive the Hemkund yatra being undertaken for five months in a year as an opportunity to earn their livelihood while the pilgrims complain that they were being fleeced at the roadside food stalls. The holding of ‘langars’ by Sikh philanthropic bodies providing free food to pilgrims had also led to heartburn among the locals, who considered these ‘langars’ as a threat to their livelihood.
“We have called a meeting of the Sikh representatives and the locals on Tuesday to sort out the issue amicably,” Sachin Kurve said.
