No ‘kanwar yatra’ & fairs in Bihar this year

PATNA: There will be no ‘kanwar yatra’ and Shrawani Mela in the state this year due to Covid pandemic. The devotees will have to offer prayers at home and only priests will be allowed to perform rituals in temples.
Bihar State Religious Trust Board chairman Akhilesh Kumar Jain on Tuesday said following a direction issued by the state government, religious congregations like the devotees’ long walk to temples, traditionally known as ‘kanwar yatra’, will not be allowed this time. Earlier, devotees used to walk to temples to offer special prayers to Lord Shiva and participate in Shrawani Mela.
Jain said the devotees would also not be allowed to fetch holy water from Ganga at Bhagalpur and Sultanpur.
Important temples which used to attract large number of devotees with ‘kanwar’ in the state during the month of Shrawan were Garibnath Dham (Muzaffarpur), Kusheswar Sthan (Darbhanga), Harihar Nath Temple (Sonepur) and Bihta temple.
According to Hindu traditions, Shrawan is the dearest month of Lord Shiva and that is why devotees hold special prayers in different temples.
Since speculations of the third wave of Covid pandemic are gaining ground and the state government is taking all measures to strengthen health facilities from rural to urban areas, unregulated gatherings like ‘kanwar yatra’ and Shrawani Mela could increase the risk of spread of the virus.