Kawad Yatra postponed amid COVID-19 concerns as nationwide cases continue to soar

chief ministers of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana on Saturday arrived at a consensus to postpone Kawad Yatra this year in wake of COVID-19 pandemic. yatra annually attracts a large number of people and would have proved to be a high-risk event given rising cases of vel coronavirus infection in country.

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Yatra postponed

issue was discussed among leaders over video conferencing and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's consensus was taken before anuncing decision. 

Earlier in day, Gujarat High Court ordered stay on holding of annual Jagannath Rath Yatra procession over COVID-19 concerns. A division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala issued a stay on all secular and religious activities related to Rath Yatra, after taking into consideration submissions made by a petitioner and respondents as well as recent Supreme Court''s order staying Rath Yatra.

"It is commendable for Gujarat High Court to open ir doors for this urgent hearing since it would have been a very dangerous situation that would've been created because re is way that social distancing would've been followed. It would've also been dangerous since Ahmedabad is a hotspot for COVID-19 cases. It is also a violation of Central Guidelines. If doors of temples of Justice can be open digitally, why can't doors of Temples be open for devotees in same manner?" said Aum Kotwal, petitioner's lawyer. 

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Coronavirus In India

On Saturday, country reported 14,516 cases, highest spike in number of cases in a day, taking total to 3,95,048 out of which 1,68,269 are active cases.  recovery rate has w touched 54.13% with a total of 2,13,830 recoveries so far. 

Union Health Ministry on Friday wrote to all states and Union Territories to ensure strict implementation of guidelines on home isolation at field level. Mentioning that certain states are allowing home isolation as a routine practice, Lav Aggarwal - Joint Secretary in Health Ministry, cautioned that this might lead to spread of disease among family members and neighbours, especially in dense urban conglomerations. According to him, policy of test, trace, track, and isolate may t be feasible if guidelines are t implemented in letter and spirit. 

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READ: Jagannath Temple Managing Committee Urges Odisha Govt To Seek Modification In SC Order On Rath Yatra