English हिन्दी
Connect with us

India News

Uttar Pradesh says yes to Kanwar Yatra, Uttarakhand cancels it

Amid Covid third fears, the Uttarakhand govt has cancelled the Kanwar Yatra while the UP has already decide to resume the annual ritual with Covid restrictions in place.Every year, an estimated 30 million Kanwariyas gather to collect water from Ganga at Haridwar to offer to Shiva temples in their areas.

Published

5 years ago

on

kanwar yatra

Amid Covid third fears, the Uttarakhand government has cancelled the Kanwar Yatra this year while the Uttar Pradesh has devoted to begin the annual ritual with Covid restrictions in place.

On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held meeting with the top state government officials and decided to cancel the Yatra. After the meeting, Dhami said that the Uttarakhand government is not interested in turning Haridwar into a Covid hotspot and do not want to put people’s lives at risk. He said the government have decided to cancel the Kanwar Yatra in view of the Covid third wave fear. God wouldn’t want lives to be lost, Dhami said.

The decision to cancel the Kanwar Yatra in Uttarakhand was taken a day after the Indian Medical Association’s state unit wrote to the Chief Minister and reminded him that failure to follow rules had triggered the devastating second wave.

The Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General (ADG), Prashant Kumar, had said that the Kanwar yatra will be held from July 25 to August 6 this year.

On Tuesday, the UP government said that the Kanwar Yatra, which sees a heavy movement of crores of devotees from UP, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh, will take place from July 25 with a minimum capacity, strict Covid protocols and negative RT-PCR Covid.  

Hours after the cancellation of Yatra, Dhami has also requested to the UP govt officials to coordinate with them to curb the pandemic. Heavy security forces have been deployed at Uttarakhand border to stop the Kanwariyaas.  

The Kanwar Yatra doesn’t necessarily requires a devotee to go to Haridwar or Gomukh. The water of Ganga called Gangajal can be fetched from other locations. As per the devotees demand, the water of Ganga will be transported through tanker to other states.

It is being considered that a big chunk of devotees especially in central UP and East UP will move towards Prayagraj or Varanasi.

Every year, an estimated 30 million Kanwariyas from various northern states gather to collect water from the Ganga at Haridwar to offer to Shiva temples in their areas.

Last year, in view of Covid lockdown, the UP govt had cancelled the Kanwar Yatra while earlier before this in 2019, nearly 3.5 crore devotees had visited Haridwar while over 2-3 crore people had visited pilgrimage spots in Western UP.

Earlier this year, the Uttarakhand government had faced massive criticism over organising Maha Kumbh in Haridwar, which led to a massive surge in Covid cases. Expert have estimated that fewer than 300 cases were reported on April 1 but that jumped to over 5,500 by mid-May. The outrage led to an appeal by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi mid-way to shortened one-month festival.

Read Also: Arvind Kejriwal promises free power up to 300 units if AAP wins Goa

The Uttarakhand government cancelled the Yatra at a time the Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a warning to follow the Covid protocols after visuals from hill stations showed large crowds violating Covid protocols in public gathering and shopping centres.

In other India News, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday promised 300 units of free electricity to garner votes in Goa

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

India News

West Bengal Governor dissolves Assembly amid political transition 

Governor R N Ravi dissolved the West Bengal Assembly after the 2026 poll results, with the BJP securing a majority in the state elections.

Published

11 hours ago

on

May 7, 2026

By

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly was dissolved following the conclusion of the 2026 Assembly elections, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a clear majority in the state.

Governor R N Ravi issued the order dissolving the Assembly as the state prepared for the transition of power after the election results. According to reports, the BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the Trinamool Congress secured 80 seats.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the election outcome and alleged irregularities in the poll process, claiming the mandate had been “looted”.

The dissolution came as the tenure of the existing Assembly ended on May 7, 2026. The development has sparked political discussions over the formation of the next government in the state.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with newly elected Trinamool Congress MLAs in Kolkata and reportedly raised concerns over internal sabotage during the elections.

The BJP is expected to begin the formal process of government formation in West Bengal after its decisive victory in the Assembly polls.

Continue Reading

India News

Eknath Shinde’s helicopter returns to Mumbai mid-flight due to bad weather

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s helicopter was forced to return to Mumbai after the pilot detected approaching storm conditions during a flight to Thane district.

Published

11 hours ago

on

May 7, 2026

By

Eknath_shinde (1)

A helicopter carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was forced to return to Mumbai on Thursday after encountering adverse weather conditions during a flight to Thane district.

According to officials, Shinde had departed from Mahalaxmi Racecourse in south Mumbai around 3.30 pm and was travelling to Murbad in Thane district to attend a wedding function related to a party worker’s family.

The helicopter reportedly reached the Airoli area in Navi Mumbai when the pilot noticed an approaching storm and informed the deputy chief minister about the deteriorating weather conditions. Following the alert, the flight was turned back as a precautionary measure.

The helicopter later landed safely at the Pawan Hans facility in Juhu, Mumbai. Officials said Shinde was accompanied by members of his staff, including personal assistant Prabhakar Kale, special executive officer Balsingh Rajput and media adviser Vinay Patrdukar.

The incident comes amid changing weather conditions and storm activity reported in parts of Maharashtra in recent days.

Continue Reading

India News

Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant among 32 inducted in Bihar cabinet expansion

Nishant Kumar entered the Bihar cabinet for the first time as 32 ministers from NDA allies took oath in a major expansion of the state government.

Published

15 hours ago

on

May 7, 2026

By

Bihar government cabinet

A major cabinet expansion took place in Bihar on Thursday, with 32 leaders from the ruling NDA alliance inducted into the state government. Among the prominent names was Nishant Kumar, son of former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who entered the cabinet for the first time.

The expansion included representatives from all major NDA allies in the state. According to reports, the BJP secured 15 ministerial berths, while JD(U) got 13 positions. Two ministers were inducted from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), while Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha received one berth each.

The oath-taking ceremony was held in Patna in the presence of senior NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Nishant Kumar’s induction comes weeks after he formally entered active politics. His entry into the Bihar cabinet is being viewed as a significant development for JD(U), which had long projected an anti-dynasty image under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.

The cabinet reshuffle follows Nitish Kumar’s move to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year and the formation of the government led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.

Continue Reading

Trending

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com