Why are you going ahead with Kanwar Yatra amid COVID: SC to UP govt

Taking suo motu cognisance, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government why it gave a go-ahead for Kanwar Yatra in the state despite COVID threat looming all over.

Issuing a notice to the state government, a bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman, posted the matter for hearing on Friday.

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The Yogi Adityanath government on Tuesday allowed the yatra from July 25 despite the possibility of such mass congregations triggering a possible third wave of COVID.

Incidentally, the Uttarakhand government cancelled Kanwar Yatra.

Kanwariyas,  or devotees of Lord Shiva, collect water from the Ganga at Haridwar to offer at Shiva temples in their places as part of the yatra.

The fortnight-long yatra, which begins with the onset of Shravan month, goes on till the first week of August.