Dehradun, July 16 -- The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday sought a detailed response from the state's director general of police (DGP) Deepam Seth and Panchayati Raj Secretary Chandresh Kumar Yadav on how the state plans to manage conducting Panchayat elections at a time when the state is witnessing huge influx of Kanwariyas in the ongoing Kanwar Yatra and prevailing monsoon conditions across the state. Taking serious note of recent incidents of violence reported during the ongoing Kanwar Yatra in the state the court has directed that the response be submitted by Wednesday, when the case will be heard again. The direction was issued by a division bench comprising chief justice G Narender and justice Alok Mehra while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Dehradun-based petitioner Baijnath. The PIL called for the rescheduling of upcoming Panchayat elections in light of the Kanwar Yatra and prevailing monsoon conditions across the state. Pulak Raj Malik, counsel for the petitioner, said during the hearing, Panchayati Raj Secretary Chandresh Kumar Yadav and DGP Deepam Seth appeared virtually before the court. "Secretary Yadav informed the bench that the Kanwar Yatra would not pose any obstacle to the Panchayat elections and assured that the state government had made adequate arrangements to ensure free, fair, and peaceful polling. He said that detailed planning had been carried out covering the Panchayat elections, the Kanwar Yatra, and monsoon-related disaster management. He told HC that the impact of the Kanwar Yatra is largely concentrated in the districts of Pauri, Dehradun, and Haridwar, while its influence in the hill areas is limited to only 10 per cent. Since the elections are scheduled in two phases-on July 24 and July 28-there would be no major hindrance to the process", he said. Malik said the court, however, expressed concern over multiple reports of violence during the Kanwar Yatra, which have surfaced in the media. "The bench referred to incidents involving assault on a shopkeeper and two women, as well as damage to a vehicle, stating that such behaviour was unacceptable in Uttarakhand. The court emphasised that these incidents must be taken seriously and dealt with through concrete and effective measures", he said. Malik said the DGP assured the court that strict legal action was being taken against those involved in such incidents. "The DGP informed the court that several accused individuals had already been arrested and cases had been registered against them. He further said a detailed security deployment plan had been implemented to manage the simultaneous challenges posed by the Kanwar Yatra, Char Dham Yatra, monsoonal disasters, and elections. He told the court that 30% of the police force has been deployed for the Kanwar Yatra, ten per cent for the Char Dham Yatra, and another ten percent for disaster-prone regions. The remaining 50% of the police force has been assigned to general duties and election-related deployments across districts. Forces from the Home Guard, Provincial Armed Constabulary, and 70 units of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in vulnerable regions to ensure preparedness and swift response in emergencies", he said....