After foot massage by Sr. police officials, now Ghaziabad DM showers flower petals on Kanwariyas from chopper

District Magistrate of Ghaziabad Ajay Shankar Pandey and SSP Sudhir Kumar Singh on Monday showered flower petals from a helicopter on ‘kanwariyas’ on Monday, July 29.

DM and the senior police official were on board to monitor the security of the Kanwar Yatra and later showered petals on kanwariyas.

Earlier in July, senior UP officials of Uttar Pradesh, including ADG Prashant Kumar, Commissioner Saharanpur, DIG, DM and SSP Saharanpur also undertook a chopper ride to shower rose petals on the Kanwariyas in Saharanpur.

In 2018, ADG Prashant Kumar had stirred a controversy after he had carried showered flowers from a helicopter.

UP govt faced criticism last year after they spent a whopping ₹14.31 lakhs from the state exchequer to hire a helicopter which was later used to shower petals on the Kanwariyas in Meerut.

On July 28, Superintendent of Police in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district Ajay Kumar was captured on camera, giving a foot massage to a kanwariya recently.

Sharing the video on its official Twitter account, Shamli Police wrote: "Ajay Kumar inaugurated a new medical camp, especially set up for kanwariyas, in the district. The officer also offered 'seva' to a kanwariyas who had come to the medical camp."

Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage for the devotees of Shiva -- known as Kanwariyas -- during the month of Shraavan in the Hindu calendar. Kanwar Yatra hits its peak celebrations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered special facilities for kanwariyas this year. Schools along the yatra route have been shut and traffic movement has been banned on the route.

The Chief Minister has also ordered for showering of rose petals on the pilgrims from helicopters.