New Delhi, June 21,2020: In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the kanwar yatra this year has been cancelled.
The development comes after the chief ministers of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana discussed the matter via video-conference on June 20.
All of them agreed that the annual kanwar yatra, which sees a huge congregation of Shiva devotees in Haridwar, should be cancelled this year.
The Uttarakhand chief minister said he had also spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah, who advised him to take a decision after thinking over it. Trivendra Singh Rawat will soon speak to the chief ministers of Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan over the issue.
Earlier in April, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board had announced cancellation of the Amarnath Yatra due to coronavirus pandemic.
Notably, scores of lord Shiva devotees from across India undertake the pilgrimage called Kanwar yatra, on foot during Shravan- a month in the Hindu calendar every year.
Wearing orange-colored clothes with decorated pot on their shoulders, the pilgrims visit Haridwar, Gaumukh adn Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch water of river Ganga.
https://www.india.com/news/india/kanwar-yatra-2020-cancelled-in-the-wake-of-covid-19-pandemic-4063699/