Uttarakhand cancels Kanwar Yatra in view of possible third COVID wave

It is for the second consecutive year that the Uttarakhand government has cancelled the Kanwar yatra due to the pandemic. The IMA had recently urged the state CM to not allow the yatra to go ahead in the interest of the state and the country.

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Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday (July 13) cancelled the Kanwar Yatra in view of a possible third wave of COVID-19, sources said. It is for the second consecutive year that the yatra is not being held due to the pandemic.

The Indian Medical Association had also written to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recently asking him to not allow the yatra to go ahead in the interest of the people of the state and the country.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said that though Kanwar Yatra is part of Sanatan culture, saving lives in the time of the pandemic was paramount.

The fortnight-long yatra which begins with the onset of the month of Shravan by the Hindu calendar goes on till the first week of August and sees a large gathering of Kanwariyas in Haridwar from neighbouring states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to collect the holy waters of the Ganga.