A man walks to Deoghar with his children. Telegraph picture

Bhagalpur, June 24: Learning from the previous mistakes, the officials of Bihar and Jharkhand have taken up the mantle to ensure a smoother walk to the Shravani Mela, starting from July 16.

A recent gift from the Bihar government to the pilgrims heading to the fair is the new Kanwaria kaccha (non-metallic) path. Developed as a Kanwaria corridor, it would reduce the walk of the saffron-clad kanwarias (pilgrims) to reach the mythological home turf of Lord Baidyanath in neighbouring Deoghar in Jharkhand by 25km.

“Officials of Bihar and Jharkhand, who attended an inter-state meeting in Deoghar on June 23 discussed several important aspects of the month-long Shravani mela,” Dayashankar Pandey, the divisional commissioner of Bhagalpur, said.

Pandey, who represented Bihar in the meeting in Deoghar yesterday with top district officials of Bhagalpur, Munger and Banka, said the meeting was organised for better co-ordination among officials of both the states for the fair.

According to Pandey, the new Kanwaria corridor developed on a kaccha track beside Sultanganj-Deoghar road (a 105-km stretch), would cut the distance by nearly 25km.

Now, about 70km of the Kanwaria path falls under Bhagalpur, Munger and Banka districts while 10km falls under Deoghar district. He said 90 per cent work on the Kanwaria path has been completed and the rest of the work was going on in war footing.

During the Shravani mela, thousands of pilgrims from across the country and abroad take on the holy voyage on foot to Deoghar to pay respect to Lord Baidyanath.

Pandey said since the major portion of the stretch of the Kanwaria path falls under Bihar, the administration here has more responsibilities compared to Jharkhand.

He said elaborate security arrangements would be done on the Kanwaria path and checkposts would be set up at the borders of Jharkhand.

For the first time, there would be mounted police force at places like Banka and Jamui forests that falls near the Kanwaria path.

Most kanwarias prefer to return to their destinations after completing the rituals in Deoghar taking the Jamui-Sikandra or Jamui-Munger route, which pass through Maoist-affected zones.

He said special medical arrangements, including doctors and medicines, would be made available at all important junctions on the Kanwaria path, especially at Kotoriya forest areas in Banka, where every year maximum cases of snakebites are reported.

Officials of Bihar and Jharkhand would co-ordinate with each other over the phone for smooth functioning of the fair.