New Delhi: Resting on a thin mattress inside a brightly coloured tent in northeast Delhi, 18-year-old Gungun taps away on her phone, sending her mother a quick message: she’s safe and she’s finally getting some rest.Outside, the expanse of GT Road and Eastern Approach Road is a churn of dust and speeding trucks and cars. But inside the corridor of kanwar shivirs, the exhaustion of a journey spanning hundreds of kilometres from Haridwar, Rishikesh, Neelkanth, Gangotri and other places gives way to respite. Under the watch of CCTV cameras, pilgrims find hot meals, medical aid, separate resting areas, portable washrooms and other essential facilities before setting off once again on their journey.For Gungun, who is undertaking her very first yatra alongside her 15-year-old brother, the fear of the open road dissolved the moment she stepped off the highway. “My parents were worried about how a young girl would manage sleeping in open camps for days,” she said. “But here, there are guarded sleeping spaces reserved just for women, dedicated female attendants and safe portable washrooms.”Inside a massive camp near Kashmere Gate ISBT, 36-year-old organiser Gaurav Saini sits at the entrance with a mic in his hand and his eyes glued to a screen split into 16 live CCTV feeds. Fire extinguishers are kept under his table and every few metres, while a barricaded office manages lost luggage and personal valuables.“When you are housing thousands of pilgrims heading as far as Rajasthan and Gujarat, faith alone isn’t enough to run a camp,” said Saini, who has managed the site for more than 15 years. “Safety and bhojan (food) are non-negotiable. Whether it’s monitoring an electrical line or keeping food piping hot, every single detail is tracked round-the-clock.”Beneath the hum of industrial water coolers, the aroma of dal-chawal, crisp samosas and massive cauldrons of boiling milk fills the air. But beyond the security cameras and hot meals, these roadside havens are quietly rewriting the social rules of the pilgrimage itself. Gathered on a large carpet nearby is a group of transgender women who travelled all the way from Bawal in Haryana’s Rewari district.“Historically, people from our community were never expected to undertake an arduous trek like this, let alone carry jal,” said Vanshika as she rested her bandaged feet. “We braced ourselves for judgment along the highway. Instead, the moment we walked into these camps, people greeted us with folded hands, offered us food and made space for us.”Further down the corridor, at Metro Pillar No. 11 in Dilshad Garden, is another line of camps, one of them managed by 50-year-old Manoj Sharma. Outside, a Delhi Police Vajra vehicle and a CATS ambulance are on standby. Police are also taking measures and keeping an eye on unruly elements to prevent them from mingling with devotees and disrupting the yatra. Inside, medical teams from GTB Hospital work continuously in shifts, applying medicines to torn soles, taping strained muscles and handing out free ORS packets to exhausted pilgrims.“Almost every camp now has a minimum of 15 CCTV cameras, and there are several civil defence volunteers as well who help in managing the crowd,” Sharma said.Along the perimeter roads, heavy ropes strung across busy lanes by traffic police force rush-hour drivers to slow down, protecting the steady stream of saffron-clad walking pilgrims.
