Finally, UP govt cancels this year’s kanwar yatra

LUCKNOW: The kanwar yatra will not take place this year, the Uttar Pradesh government said citing a decision by groups representing the pilgrims on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court gave the state till next week to ban the annual pilgrimage over Covid-19 risks.

Earlier, several kanwar sanghs in some parts of UP said they would not be able to ensure social distancing and Covid-safe behaviour at their camps, and had thus decided not to set up any of the rest stops. The pilgrimage, which typically involves tens of millions of people, was set to begin on July 25.

“The kanwar yatra has been cancelled by the kanwar sanghs on the appeal of the Uttar Pradesh government,” said a brief statement issued by Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary (information) Navneet Sehgal.

This is the second year the yatra has been cancelled due to the pandemic. Last year too, the kanwar sanghs had publicly announced they will not arrange camps.

The Uttar Pradesh government told the top court on Friday that it was looking to allow a “symbolic” yatra with restricted numbers of pilgrims, but the judges shot down the suggestion, saying: the UP government “cannot go ahead with the kanwar yatra -- 100%”. The bench told the state to either withdraw the decision to allow the pilgrimage “in the interest of health of the citizenry of India”, or invite an order from the court, leaving little option for the state government. The state had submitted that it was mindful of religious sentiments.

Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls early next year.

At the hearing on Friday, the central government also told the top court that states must not permit the yatra to go ahead.

Earlier in the day, kanwar sanghs in western UP’s Saharanpur told the district magistrate they will not be able to ensure Covid norms are followed. Hours later, a powerful group of Hindu religious leaders, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, also appealed for the yatra to be suspended this year.

The annual yatra attracts around 30 million pilgrims who travel on foot from many northern and northwestern states to Haridwar to collect water from the Ganga and carry it back to their home towns. Uttarakhand, which too will vote in the assembly elections next year, has already cancelled the yatra and said it will not allow devotees to arrive into the state.