Kanwar Yatra cancelled in Uttarakhand: Haridwar to be sealed, visitors to face quarantine

Preparing for the Kanwar Yatra, Haridwar police on Thursday directed locals to not crowd at Ganges' riverside as the entire town will be sealed. As the Uttar Pradesh govt has allowed the Yatra to commence amid fears of COVID-19 third wave, Haridwar SSP stated that 14-day quarantine has been mandated for those coming from outside Uttarakhand. If any vehicles from out-of-state forcibly enter, their vehicles will be seized stated administration. Uttarakhand has already cancelled the Yatra amid COVID scare, but other states like Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have allowed it.

Haridwar admin seals city ahead of Kanwar Yatra

SC takes cognizance

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court took suo moto cognizance of the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to allow the Kanwar Yatra amid the COVID-19 crisis. An SC bench headed by Justice RF Nariman said that it was disturbed by a newspaper report which stated that Uttarakhand had barred the Yatra with its hindsight of experience. Thereafter, it issued notice to the UP and Uttarakhand governments besides the Centre and asked them to file an early response so that the matter can be heard on Friday, July 16.

Confusion over Kanwar Yatra

The fortnight-long yatra which is set to commence on July 25 witnesses a large gathering of pilgrims from multiple states who head to Haridwar and several districts of Uttar Pradesh. Feared to be a potential superspreader event amid the impending third wave of the novel coronavirus, the Kanwar Yatra has come under the scanner. Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi has emphasised that COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing and compulsory wearing of masks will be followed during the Kanwar Yatra. 

However, the Uttarakhand branch of the Indian Medical Association wrote to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on July 9 urging him not to allow the pilgrimage. This came amid reports that the Dhami administration was revisiting its stance after Yogi Adityanath spoke to his Uttarakhand counterpart. Later, Dhami asserted, "God will not desire that someone should lose their life. Even he will not like it. Our first priority is to save the lives of people".

Already, the Uttarakhand High Court has stayed the Char Dham Yatra asserting that allowing this would be akin to "inviting a calamity" amid the threat of a third wave and the Delta plus variant. It also observed that there was a "direct correlation between the Kumbh Mela gathering and consequent deaths" in the state. At present, there are 711 and 1428 active COVID cases in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh respectively.