After Uttar Pradesh, the Uttarakhand government issued an order to dhaba and hotel owners on the highways, on the Kanwad Yatra route, to display their names and mobile numbers as Kanwad devotees started coming to Haridwar and Rishikesh from July 22.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami justified the move claiming that there were complaints of several shopkeepers using fake names to engage in illegal activities.

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The chief minister said on Friday that disclosing the names of the dhaba and hotel owners along the route the Kanwad devotees take should not be seen as a controversy but as a decision to set things in order. “This is not a new decision. It was decided on 12 July when we were reviewing the preparations for Kanwad Yatra,” he added.

In his justification for the move, he cited complaints that some people who opened their shops with fake names were found involved in unwanted activities. “What is the harm in disclosing the names of hotel owners if they have nothing to hide,” he asked.

“This decision is not targetted against anyone. Why should anyone have a problem with this decision? The basic aim of the move is the identification of the people as there have been several crimes with fake identities,” added the Uttarakhand chief minister.

It is noteworthy that the issue of fake hotels along the routes of Kanwad devotees was raised in the interstate police coordination committee meeting held in Dehradun early this month. This was followed by the Kanwad Yatra preparation review meeting headed by Dhami.

The Uttarakhand government’s decision came a day after the Yogi Adityanath Government in Uttar Pradesh announced a similar announcement.