Three 'kanwarias', devotees of Lord Shiva, were killed and 25 others injured when a truck in which they were travelling fell into a ditch near Chilla barrage in Uttarakhand's Pauri district on Friday. The incident took place at Gangabhogpur village when the kanwarias were going to the Neelkanth Mahadev temple, Pauri Superintendent of Police, Mr Pushpak Jyoti, said. Three kanwarias were seriously injured and have been referred to a hospital in Dehradun. Preliminary investigation suggested that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the driver, Mr Jyoti said. The deceased belonged to Phagota village of Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 33 kanwarias have been killed in different road accidents since July 26 when the kanwar mela began in Uttarakhand.
An estimated 80 lakh kanwarias are expected to take in the fortnight-long kanwar mela at Haridwar and Rishikesh. During the Hindu month of Shravan, Kanwarias collect holy Ganga water from Neelkanth, Gomukh or Haridwar and then pour it on Shivlinga in their hometown.