Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad asks pilgrims to call off Kanwar Yatra

Amid growing concern over the third wave of the Covid-19, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad urged the pilgrims to call off the Kanwar Yatra in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj district.

Prayagraj:As the fear of a third Covid wave looms large across the country, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of all the Akhadas, has urged the pilgrims to call off the Kanwar Yatra in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj district. Speaking to the media, Narendra Giri, president of Akhada Parishad, said that although the second wave of Covid-19 is under control, but it would be better if the Kanwar Yatra is cancelled this year keeping the threat of the third wave in mind.

Giri also suggested Kanwariyas to perform puja at their nearest Shiva temples instead of taking out the yatra. "However the UP government has given its nod for the symbolic Kanwar Yatra but seeing the Covid situation in the country, it does not seem viable," he added.

However, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to reconsider its decision on a physical Kanwar Yatra. On the Yogi Adityanath government's symbolic Kanwar Yatra proposal, the court replied, "The right to life is paramount" and asked the government to reconsider its position on even a symbolic annual ritual that annually registers a heavy movement of pilgrims across states in the northern belt.

On July 14, the top court had taken suo moto cognizance of the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to allow Kanwar Yatra amid the ongoing Covid pandemic.