LUCKNOW: Just two months after the conclusion of the Kumbh Mela, before the second wave of Covid-19 swept the country, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has approved holding the annual Kanwar Yatra from July 25 and issued guidelines to the authorities. Instructions have been issued in this regard.
According to Hindustan Times sources, there will be major hurdles like arranging Ganga water for the devotees in Uttarakhand as there will be a blockage in reaching Haridwar from Uttarakhand.
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Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary Navneet Sehgal has told that detailed guidelines will be issued soon regarding the yatra. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials to coordinate with the neighboring states of Bihar and Uttarakhand besides ensuring adherence to the COVID guidelines during the yatra.
“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked to coordinate with neighboring Bihar and Uttarakhand and ensure adherence to COVID guidelines during the journey,” Sehgal told news agency PTI.
Sehgal said detailed guidelines regarding the yatra would be issued soon and a meeting of senior officials would be held to discuss the matter.
While the officials are still trying to figure out how to coordinate with the Uttarakhand authorities after the state canceled the trip due to the pandemic. Devotees have been clearly told not to go to Haridwar to take Gangajal.
Various options are being considered to make the Yatra a success for the devotees, and one of the options is to provide water from Haridwar through tankers to the devotees in UP; Whereas another method is being considered to persuade the devotees to collect Gangajal while staying within UP.
In the annual pilgrimage or Kanwar Yatra, devotees of Lord Shiva offer water from the Ganges River (usually in Haridwar, Uttarakhand) to Shiva temples at their respective places.
The devotees, known as Kanwariyas, travel hundreds of kilometers on foot from far-flung places and visit places on the banks of the Ganges. Apart from Haridwar, Kanwariyas also visit Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar.
In 2020, the pilgrimage to Uttar Pradesh was canceled due to pandemic restrictions.
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