Kanwar Yatra: A Bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman issued notice to the UP government and sought its response while posting the case for further consideration on Friday, July 16.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday took notice of the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to allow the annual Kanwar Yatra amid the COVID-19 crisis.
A bench led by Judge Rohinton F Nariman sent a notice to the Central and Uttar Pradesh government
“The citizens of India are completely stumped. They don’t know what’s going on. And all of this amid the Prime Minister, when asked about the third wave of Covid hitting the nation, saying ‘we cannot compromise, even a little, “Judge Nariman said when issuing an opinion to the UP government according to Bar & Bench.
The government of Uttarakhand decided on Tuesday to cancel the Kanwar Yatra this year. The announcement was made by the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, who had recently expressed his desire to cancel the annual pilgrimage of Lord Shiva’s followers which was due to begin on July 25.
The cancellation of the pilgrimage comes after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) recently wrote to Dhami asking him not to allow the yatra to take place for the benefit of the people of the state and country. The new Uttarakhand CM also urged his Uttar Pradesh counterpart to cancel the yatra.
However, the government of Uttar Pradesh led by Yogi Adityanath has given its approval to run Kanwar Yatra.
Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary Navneet Sehgal informed last week that detailed guidelines for the yatra will be released soon. Officials were tasked by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to coordinate with neighbors in Bihar and Uttarakhand, in addition to ensuring that Covid guidelines are followed during the yatra.
The fourteen days of Kanwar Yatra begin with the beginning of the month of Shravan around July 25 of each year and end in the first week of August. The sacred pilgrimage is witnessed by millions of Kanwariyas from various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, and Delhi, coming together in Haridwar to collect the holy waters of the Ganges.