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U’khand may hold another meeting on Kanwar Yatra; saving lives priority, says CM
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had just returned from Delhi where he had gone to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, minister of home Amit Shah, minister of defence Rajnath Singh and other Union ministers after becoming the CM of state
Still undecided on whether to hold the Kanwar Yatra this year, the Uttarakhand government may hold a high level meeting on the issue, said chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami late on Monday, while insisting that saving lives was the top priority for him.
Dhami had just returned from Delhi where he had gone to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, minister of home Amit Shah, minister of defence Rajnath Singh and other Union ministers after becoming the CM of state.
“Kanwar Yatra does not relate to Uttarakhand alone. It involves neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi also. Uttarakhand just plays the role of the host. It is also not an issue pertaining to just 1-2 million people but also their religious beliefs. However, our first priority is saving lives as God Himself wouldn’t want people to lose their lives on this pilgrimage amid the pandemic,” said Dhami.
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He said the government has held a meeting on the issue and “if needed, we would soon hold a high level meeting to take a decision on it. But our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of the people of state.”
Uttarakhand had earlier cancelled the yatra but decided to review the order last week after a request from UP. Both states are scheduled to go the polls in 2022.
Uttar Pradesh announced that the yatra – in which Shiva devotees walk hundreds of kilometres to fetch water from the Ganga and carry it back to their villages – will begin from July 25.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government on Monday issued the standard operating procedures for the Covid curfew extended till July 20.
On Monday, the state reported 51 new cases of Covid-19 with two deaths, taking the total death toll to 7,341. The number of active cases is 932.
