Amid 3rd COVID Wave Scare, Uttarakhand To Review Decision To Stop Kanwar Yatra: What We Know

Uttarakhand decided to review its decision to stop all Kanwar yatra devotees from entering the state this year, prompting experts to caution about a steep surge in Covid infections if safety protocols are violated.

The review decision on the yatra, which sees millions of people travel through several states by foot to the holy town of Haridwar, came a day after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath cleared the event and asked Uttarakhand to allow the procession.

Fear of third wave

On Tuesday, the state government had decided not to allow the yatra over fears of a third Covid wave and increasing cases of delta variant in the state. The last Kanwar yatra was held in 2019 and roughly 30 million pilgrims reached Haridwar, as per official records.

BCCL

¡°It was decided that state government will first hold talks with other states from where Kanwariyas come on how to conduct the yatra amid fears of the third wave, how the millions of pilgrims would be tested and whether there should be a cap on the numbers this time. The final call [on how to allow the yatra]will be taken after talks in a day or two,¡± said an official.

Ashok Kumar, director-general of police (DGP) Uttarakhand, who was present in the meeting, said that Kanwar yatra was discussed in the meeting. ¡°Various aspects of the yatra were discussed and pros and cons were weighed,¡± he said.

UP, Uttarakhand to hold talks

The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand said on Thursday that they would hold talks with their neighbouring states regarding the Kanwar Yatra. Both Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party and are scheduled to go to the polls early next year.

BCCL

In a meeting, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed officials to hold detailed discussions with other states and consider all aspects while taking a decision on the yatra.

"As you are aware Covid has upset everything. Our effort at the moment is to somehow begin the Char Dham Yatra. A decision on Kanwar Yatra is likely in a day or two," Dhami told reporters in Haridwar on Wednesday.

About kanwar yatra

The chief minister, who took over on Sunday, last visited Haridwar on Wednesday to perform a puja and take the blessings of saints and seers. The CM¡¯s meeting came after the state¡¯s Urban Development Department issued an order prohibiting the Kanwar Yatra this year in view of Covid-19 pandemic.

The fortnight-long Kanwar yatra is an annual pilgrimage of Shiva devotees -- known as Kanwariyas -- to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch the water of the Ganga and carry it back to local temples.

k-yatra

Devotees come from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to Uttarakhand.

Learning from Kumbh Mela

The yatra was cancelled last year due to Covid and is usually held from July 23 to August 6. Uttarakhand government received sharp criticism from experts and the judiciary over its decision to allow full-scale organisation of the Mahakumbh, which saw 9.1 million people participate in violation of Covid norms and distancing guidelines.

PTI

Roughly six million of these was in April at the height of the second wave and officials in many other north Indian states traced local infection surges to Kumbh returnees. The administration is probing if 100,000 rapid antigen tests at the event were faked.

On June 28, the Uttarakhand high court also lashed out at the state government for allowing the Char Dham yatra and stayed its cabinet decision in this regard.