In view of Corona infection, Kanwar Yatra has also been canceled in Delhi. Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) gave this information. Earlier in Uttarakhand and on Saturday, the UP government canceled the Kanwar Yatra.
An order issued by the DDMA said, “No function, procession, meeting etc. will be allowed during the upcoming Kanwar Yatra-2021, commencing in the National Capital Region of Delhi from July 25.” The DDMA order comes a day after the travel was canceled in Uttar Pradesh.
According to the order issued by Vijay Dev, Chief Secretary, Government of Delhi and Chairman of the Executive Committee of DDMA, there is a apprehension of gatherings, processions during the Yatra and therefore in view of the COVID-19 situation, it has been decided to prevent the spread of Covid-19 virus in Delhi. Kanwar Yatra should not be allowed to prevent the spread of
The authority has directed all the District Magistrates and Deputy Commissioners of Police and other concerned officers of Delhi to ensure strict compliance of the order.
As per the previous order of the DMA, all types of gatherings including religious and festivals have already been banned in Delhi till July 26. Also, religious places including temples are allowed to open, but there is a restriction on the arrival of devotees.
The yatra usually lasts till the first week of August and thousands of Shiva devotees, called ‘Kanwadias’, travel on foot from neighboring states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to collect water from the Ganges at Haridwar in Uttarakhand. Earlier this week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that governments should take every step to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The Uttarakhand government earlier this week canceled the Kanwar Yatra in which thousands of Shiva devotees walk to collect Gangajal and then return to their towns and villages. On the other hand, UP Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said on Saturday that after the appeal of the state government, the Kanwar unions decided to cancel the yatra. The Kanwar Yatra was to start from July 25. Let us inform that the Center had told the Supreme Court that the state governments should not allow Kanwar Yatra in view of the pandemic and the Ganga water should be arranged through tankers at designated places.