Two kanwariyas killed, 8 injured in separate road accidents in UP's Muzaffarnagar

Two kanwariyas were killed and eight others seriously injured in two separate road accidents on the Delhi-Haridwar National Highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Sunday.

A kanwariya identified as Abhishek (28), a resident of Kairana, died and four others got injured after two motorcycles collided near Barla bridge under Chhapar police station late Saturday night, they said.

The accident occurred when Abhishek and his friend Manish Kataria were en route to Haridwar from Kairana to collect water from the Ganga River.

Their motorcycle collided with another two-wheeler coming from the opposite direction. The injured have been shifted to a hospital, the police added.

SHO Vikas Yadav said the body has been sent for post-mortem and investigation is underway.

In a separate incident, another kanwariya identified as Anil (23) died and four others injured after a collision between two motorcycles near Saleempur bypass under Purkazi police station area on Saturday.

SHO Jaivir Singh said Anil and his friend Ghanshyam were heading to Haridwar from Noida to collect Ganga water when their bike collided with another motorcycle.

Injured were rushed to the hospital, where their condition was stated to be stable.

Meanwhile, an anti-sabotage team has begun intensified checking of commuters and belongings at the Bhurahedi checkpost on the Delhi-Dehradun National Highway under Purkazi police station limits on Saturday.

The move is aimed at preventing any untoward incident during the ongoing Kanwar Yatra, officials said.

The police said the number of Kanwar pilgrims has significantly increased on the Delhi-Dehradun highway and Ganga Canal road.

Thousands of kanwariyas were seen returning on foot from Haridwar to their local Shiva temples across Uttar Pradesh, police said.