Basti SP leader urges UP govt to hold Kanwar Yatra

A Samajwadi Party leader from Basti district on Tuesday urged the Uttar Pradesh authorities to hold the annual Kanwar Yatra, days after the state government suspended it in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a video conference with his counterparts in Haryana and Uttarakhand, and discussed the issue, an official release had said.

A Samajwadi Party leader from Basti district on Tuesday urged the Uttar Pradesh authorities to hold the annual Kanwar Yatra, days after the state government suspended it in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. SP leader Siddharth Singh submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate in this regard and said it should be held on the lines of the Jagannath Rath Yatra. "I will arrange 50,000 masks and 100 litre sanitiser. These will be distributed among Shiv devotees in the presence of officials,” he said. “When temples are open for devotees, the decision to cancel the yatra this year will be against centuries-old tradition and religious belief," he told reporters

On June 20, the state government had announced that the Kanwar Yatra during the month of 'Shravan' will remain suspended this year in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a video conference with his counterparts in Haryana and Uttarakhand, and discussed the issue, an official release had said. The chief ministers said religious gurus and kanwar sanghs in their respective states have proposed suspending the yatra in view of COVID-19 and after deliberating over it, they took the decision in the public interest, the release had said. Adityanath also held video conferencing with all police IGs and commissioners and asked them to hold a dialogue with religious leaders, kanwar sanghs, peace committees in this regard.