After Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Delhi too cancels Kanwar Yatra amid Covid

Kanwar yatra is an annual pilgrimage of Shiva devotees, known as Kanwariyas, to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch Ganga waters to anoint lord Shiva lingams at Shiva Temples at their respective places. (HT Photo) (HT) — Kanwar yatra is an annual pilgrimage of Shiva devotees, known as Kanwariyas, to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch Ganga waters to anoint lord Shiva lingams at Shiva Temples at their respective places. (HT Photo) **(HT)**

2 min read . Updated: 18 Jul 2021, 07:15 PM IST Livemint

Delhi Disaster Management Authority has cancelled the organisation of the Kanwar Yatra in view of Covid

After Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Delhi too has cancelled Kanwar Yatra, news agency ANI reported on Sunday. The agency said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had cancelled the organisation of the Kanwar Yatra in view of Covid.

On Saturday, the Uttar Pradesh government cancelled the annual yatra after holding talks to many groups. The decisions came a day after the Supreme Court said it cannot allow the Uttar Pradesh government to hold 100 per cent physical Kanwar Yatra in view of Covid. The court stressed that sentiments, including religious were subservient to the Right to Life.

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to inform by July 19 whether it would reconsider its decision to hold a "symbolic" Kanwar Yatra.

The SC had also issued notices to Centre and Uttarakhand. The Centre had told the top court that the state governments must not permit any kind of Kanwar yatra because of the pandemic and arrangements should be made for water from the Ganges to be available through tankers at designated places.

After a nudge from the top court, the Uttar Pradesh government had said that it was talking with "kanwar sanghs" to take the right decision on the annual yatra and reminded that the organisations themselves decided to cancel it last year.

On Saturday, the state government cancelled the yatra. "The Kanwar Yatra has been cancelled by the Kanwar Sanghs on the appeal of the Uttar Pradesh government," Additional Chief Secretary Information Navneet Sehgal said on Sunday. The yatra was scheduled to start on July 25.

The Uttarakhand government had already called off the Kanwar Yatra citing fears expressed by experts of a possible third wave of the pandemic and the risk posed by such gatherings.

During the annual yatra, thousands of Shiva devotees called kanwariyas' travel mostly on foot from neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to collect water from the Ganges in Haridwar.

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