As thousands of Kanwariyas make their way through Uttar Pradesh during the annual Kanwar Yatra, camps along the route are taking an increasingly organised approach to feeding and accommodating devotees.
Several camps have introduced machines to prepare food in large quantities, while some have adopted plastic-free practices to maintain hygiene and reduce waste. District authorities are also inspecting private camps to monitor food quality, cleanliness and other arrangements, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
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The Kanwar camps have arranged full-day meal schedules for devotees, with food being served from early morning until dinner.
What is on the menu?
The day begins with light refreshments such as tea, biscuits, poha and jalebi. Breakfast options at some camps include samosas, kachoris, bread pakoras, vegetable hakka noodles and honey chilli potatoes.
Lunch offers a much wider spread, including shahi paneer, kadhai paneer, paneer lababdar, dal makhani and mixed vegetables. These are served with options such as chur-chur naan, butter naan, jeera rice and rotis.
Desserts are also part of the menu, with devotees being served sweets such as rabri-jalebi, rasmalai, rasgulla and gulab jamun.
Evening snacks include spring rolls, chilli paneer, manchurian, pasta, vegetable pizza, momos, macaroni, soup and burgers.
Dinner includes dishes such as chhole-puri, matar paneer, pulao, dal and rotis, followed by desserts including kheer, halwa, fruit custard and gulab jamun.
Camps are also maintaining supplies of lassi, buttermilk, juices, tea, coffee and drinking water throughout the day.
Machines help prepare thousands of rotis
The scale of food preparation has prompted some camps to turn to technology.
At the Kankarkheda Vyapar Sangh camp, an automatic machine can knead around 20 kg of dough at a time. An automatic roti-making machine has also been deployed to speed up preparation.
According to camp organisers, the machine can produce around 16 rotis every minute and approximately 900 rotis an hour. Its daily output can reach between 6,000 and 7,000 rotis.
Other machines are being used for tasks such as chopping vegetables and preparing spices in bulk, reducing the amount of manual work required in camp kitchens.
Special food for fasting devotees
Camps are also catering to devotees observing fasts during the pilgrimage.
At the Modipuram camp, special ‘falahar’ meals are being prepared using fasting-friendly ingredients. These include dishes made from kuttu and singhara flour, potato-based preparations and seasonal fruits.
Devotees completing long stretches of their journey are also being offered hot kesar doodh in traditional clay kulhads.
Plastic-free camps focus on hygiene
Some camps have declared themselves plastic-free, replacing disposable plastic and thermocol plates with stainless steel utensils.
The move is aimed at improving cleanliness while reducing plastic waste generated by large gatherings.
Meanwhile, district officials are conducting inspections of private camps to check food quality, hygiene standards and overall arrangements.
The initiatives reflect how Kanwar camps are increasingly combining traditional hospitality with modern kitchen technology. With thousands of devotees passing through these facilities, organisers are relying on mechanised food preparation, organised menus and stricter hygiene measures to meet the demands of one of India’s largest annual pilgrimages.
Yogi Adityanath to welcome Kanwariyas
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also scheduled to visit Meerut during the Kanwar Yatra. He will conduct an aerial survey of the route and review security and other arrangements.
The chief minister is also expected to shower flower petals on Kanwariyas from a platform near the Dulhera police outpost in Modipuram.
The Kanwar Yatra began on July 30 with the start of the holy month of Shravan and is scheduled to conclude on August 11.
