Kanwar Yatra gets cancelled in Uttar Pradesh, VHP urges for allowing pilgrimage with COVID protocols

Kanwar Yatra has been cancelled in Uttar Pradesh in view of Covid, news agency ANI reported on Saturday. This comes just a day after the Supreme Court directed the state government to reconsider its decision of allowing annual yatra with some restrictions.

Kanwar Yatra

Reacting to the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand government's decision of cancelling Kanwar Yatra due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) international joint general secretary Surendra Jain on Sunday urged the two state governments to rethink their decision and allow the religious pilgrimage with coronavirus restrictions.

"Kanwar Yatra is a very important religious yatra for Hindus that ties the country in unity. COVID-19 protocols should be followed but it is not right to ban the yatra. It is my appeal to Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to rethink their decision and allow the yatra. However, limiting it by the implementation of COVID-19 protocols," Jain said.

He further stated that the judiciary must not be "selective" in its decision.

Suggesting the governing bodies to find ways to hold the yatra, Jain said, "Judiciary must not be selective in its decision. Instead of suppressing the religious belief of the people, the state governments and Supreme Court must find ways to control the situation in future."

VHP international joint secretary also pointed out that in the recent past, Jagannath Yatra was permitted to take place with certain restrictions.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government had decided to cancel the yatra on Tuesday.

The Kanwar Yatra, in which Shiva devotees from northern states travel on foot or by other means to collect water from Ganga in Haridwar to offer it at Shiva temples in their areas, is set to begin from July 25.

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