Kanwar Yatra
Uttar Pradesh: Organisers cancel Kanwar Yatra following state govt's request
Lucknow/IBNS: Uttar Pradesh has cancelled Kanwar Yatra, the annual pilgrimage observed during the holy month of Shravan, in view of the coronavirus pandemic, according to media reports.
"On the request of the UP government, Kanwar associations have decided to cancel Kanwar Yatra in UP," said a state government spokesperson, reported NDTV.
This will be the second consecutive year when Kanwar Yatra has been stopped.
The decision to cancel the pilgrimage comes a day after the Supreme Court asked the Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the Kanwar Yatra.
The Supreme Court gave the UP government time till Monday to reconsider its decision or else it would pass orders.
Every year millions of devotees of Lord Shiva collect water from the Ganges and offer the water at "Jyotirlingas".
These devotees are called Kawariyas as they collect and carry the water on their shoulders in vessels called "Kanwar".
Since the third wave of Covid-19 is imminent, organisers were forced to rethink the decision to organise the Yatra this year, especially after the second wave of the pandemic claimed 2.5 lakh lives just a month ago.
Crowding and lack of Covid appropriate behaviour could worsen the pandemic situation, Public Health experts have warned.
Uttarakhand, where a large number of Kanwariyas reach to collect water from the Ganges at Haridwar, cancelled the event on Tuesday.
The state government ordered the closure of the borders for Kanwariyas from July 24, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar has said.
In order to enable the devotees to offer the water from Ganges in Haridwar the state government has allowed other states to send tankers to collect water.
The Supreme Court has taken up the Kanwar Yatra issue suo motu and asked the UP government and the Centre to respond.
The Uttar Pradesh government told the court that it would hold only a symbolic Yatra in which only fully vaccinated devotees will be allowed to participate.
An NDTV report said the Centre has not objected to the Yatra citing religious sentiments.
The Supreme Court said people were perplexed that the UP government was allowing Kawar Yatra despite Public Health experts and Prime Minister Narendra Modi warning against large gatherings and asking everyone to follow social distancing and Covid protocols.
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