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'Under no circumstances will Kanwariyas be allowed in Haridwar’, warn police
The Uttarakhand police order comes on the heels of the Uttarakhand government suspending the annual Kanwar Yatra this year on July 14 in view of the Covid-19 situation.
Uttarakhand police said on Saturday that Kanwariyas will not be allowed to come to Haridwar during the annual pilgrimage and the state’s borders will be sealed. "All the boundaries of the district will remain sealed so that the Kanwariyas cannot come to Haridwar. Along with this, QRT of the police will also be deployed," Haridwar's senior superintendent of police (SSP) Senthil Avoodai K Raj S said according to news agency ANI.
The SSP’s order comes on the heels of the Uttarakhand government suspending the annual Kanwar Yatra this year on July 14 in view of the Covid-19 situation. It was scheduled to begin on July 25.
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"We discussed with higher officials and with officials from neighbouring states and decided that we will not hold Kanwar Yatra at this time. A variant has been found in Gadarpur so we don't want to make Haridwar the centre of Covid," chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.
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Uttarakhand police issued a warning on July 14, asking Kanwariyas not to enter Haridwar district saying their vehicles will be confiscated and legal action will be initiated against them under the Disaster Management Act.
The state government has decided to send holy water from the river Ganga via post to devotees since they will not be able to make the journey to collect it themselves.
