The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday cancelled this year’s Kanwar Yatra, a decision that came amidst warnings by experts that such events could fuel the spread of Covid-19. The move came after newly appointed chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting with senior officials at the secretariat.
“Kanwar is part of the Sanatan culture but saving lives is paramount. The government’s focus is to ensure that Covid does not spread,”
Chief Minister Dhami had said while addressing BJP workers earlier on Tuesday.
A two-week long annual pilgrimage for devotees of Lord Shiva, the Kanwar Yatra is due to begin on 25 July. As part of the pilgrimage, devotees travel to Haridwar in Uttarakhand and other parts of the country to fetch holy water from the river Ganga. Held at the beginning of the month of Shravan as per the Hindu calendar, the pilgrimage goes on till the first week of August.
“We discussed with higher officials and with officials from neighbouring states and decided that we will not hold Kanwar Yatra at this time. A variant has been found in Gadarpur so we do not want to make Haridwar the center of Covid,” Dhami told the media.
Earlier, the Indian Medical Association (IMA)’s Uttarakhand chapter wrote to CM Dhami, urging him to cancel the annual pilgrimage. But traders from Haridwar had been demanding resumption of the Yatra, claiming that cancellation of the pilgrimage owing to the lockdown last year led to severe losses. Such traders, whose livelihood depends almost entirely on the annual pilgrimages like the Kanwar Yatra, had been seeking an assurance from the state government that the pilgrimage would be held this year unlike in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to go ahead with the Kanwar Yatra despite the threat of Covid-19. On Tuesday, CM Yogi Adityanath directed the state officials to ensure adherence to Covid-19 norms during the Yatra. The pilgrimage must be allowed with respect to expert estimates about the spread of Covid-19, he added.
Negative RT-PCR reports will be sought from devotees who enter Uttar Pradesh from other states to take part in the Kanwar Yatra, said the CM.
Adityanath also directed officials to request Kanwar Sanghs to ensure the participation of a minimum number of people in the yatra.