The Haridwar district administration is now gearing up to take on any situation in view of the possibility of thousands of Sikh community people thronging Haridwar on the occasion of Vaisakhi Mela and heading towards the place where once stood the historic Gurdwara Gyan Godri in Har Ki Paidi, demolished many years ago.
Police said they are extra alert as the dispute over the demolished Gurudwara still rankles in the Sikh psyche. Notably, a section of the community has agreed to build a new Gurudwara bearing the same name at another place while another section insists that a land must be given to them in Har Ki Paidi itself to build a new Gurudwara there. A police officer said that there is a reason for them to be worried about in view of All India Sikh Conference having asked the people of the community to congregate in their thousands at Har Ki Paidi.
During a review meeting held on Friday, the district magistrate Deepak Rawat appointed ADM Bhagwat Kishore Mishra as the district in-charge for keeping vigilance on the mischievous elements while the city magistrate Manish Kumar Singh has been appointed the in-charge for the municipal corporation area.
The whole district has been divided into zones and sectors with 12 zonal magistrates and 39 sector magistrates being tasked to oversee things since 4 pm on April 13 till the completion of the Baisakhi fair.
Notably, hundreds of sword-wielding youth from across the country gather in Haridwar during this time every year and they are stopped from reaching Har Ki Paidi by the local administration.
Things might turn tense this year too as the president of AISC Gurcharan Singh Babbar said that some people of the community might try to take forced possession of the historic Gurdwara, Sri Gyan Godri Sahib near Har Ki Paidi during the occasion.
He urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action immediately in the interest of the nation.
He further warned that if things happen that way the Centre and the Uttarakhand government would be held squarely responsible for it.