Kanwar Yatra Draws Masses to Haridwar Amid Aerial Flower Tribute

Large crowds of Kanwar pilgrims converged on Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar on Thursday to collect Ganga water as part of the ongoing annual Kanwar Yatra, a month-long pilgrimage that peaks during the Hindu month of Shravan. Local authorities facilitated the gathering by staging a ceremonial shower of flower petals from a helicopter, while police and volunteer groups managed traffic and crowd control. State officials estimate that tens of thousands of devotees arrived in the city during the day, with overall pilgrim numbers running into the low millions across Uttarakhand’s main sites, including Rishikesh, Neelkanth Mahadev and Gangotri. No major disruptions or safety incidents were reported, although officials advised participants to stagger their travel times to ease pressure on highways leading to Delhi and other northern cities. The Yatra typically continues until early August.