Uttarakhand government cancels Kanwar Yatra amid coronavirus third wave threat

Haridwar : Amid predictions of coronavirus third wave in India, Uttarakhand government has decided to cancel Kanwar Yatra once again this year. On July 2, the state government had cancelled Kanwar Yatra to Haridwar in the month of Sawan due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giving more details about the development to news agency ANI, state government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal said that the government has decided to cancel the yatra as a precautionary measure ahead of probable third wave. Kanwar yatra was cancelled last year too.

This time every year during the Hindu calendar month of ‘Saavan’, thousands of devotees from across India, undertake the pilgrimage called ‘Kanwar Yatra’. These pilgrims visit Haridwar, Gaumukh, and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch the waters of river Ganga. Later, the holy water is dispensed as offerings to Lord Shiva in temples.

On July 8, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami had announced that the final decision on Kanwar yatra will be taken in one or two days.

“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.

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