Uttarakhand CM being lauded for stopping Kanwad Yatra. State inhabitants and administration heaved a great sigh of relief

After committing a grave blunder of holding the Mahakumbh at Haridwar in April by the previous BJP regime in Uttarakhand, led by outgoing CM Tirath Singh Rawat with the former assuming the via media as super spreader of dreaded pandemic claiming several lives, the current chief minister has used his wisdom and stopped the KAANWAD YATRA, despite pressure from the Uttar Pradesh government, seeking the blessings of prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah, after meeting them in Delhi few days ago. The latest decision of the Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami is being lauded and appreciated all around especially when he was under immense pressure from the BJP stalwart and UP CM Yogi Aadityanath to allow the Kanwad Yatra enter Haridwar from 25 th July.

Though the earlier CM Tirath Singh Rawat had literally stopped this Yatra after learning lessons from the Haridwar Mahakumbh and reservations of high court on Char Dham Yatra and Kanwad Yatra the matter was again brought under revision after the UP CM tried to allegedly pressurise him to grant permission fir Kanwad Yatra where in 2019 around 3 crores pilgrims thronged Haridwar and Gangotri to fetch water from pious ganges to be poured in Shiva Lingas at their respective destinations on SHIV RATRI. This led to the CM Pushkar Singh Dhami rush to Delhi and meeting PM, HM, environment minister, defence minister n party chief to bring them into confidence and apply break on the Yatra.

The main opposition parties in Uttarakhand were also criticizing the saffron party government incessantly of endeavouring to restart the Kanwad Yatra that will create Havoc in Uttarakhand already reeling under Covid pressure with infections reaching nearly 3.5 lakh cases and more than 7000 fatalities. However, despite the decision of stopping the Kaanwad Yatra by the Uttarakhand CM scheduled to commence from 25 th July the Uttar Pradesh chief minister has continued the Yatra in his state saying that they will fetch water from Ganges in Varanasi, Kanpur, n other places from where the Ganges passes maintaining all Covid 19 protocols.

However, the DGP of Uttarakhand Ashok Kumar has said that the good number of Uttarakhand police personals have been deputed in various sensitive n pivotal entry points to prohibit the pilgrims entering Haridwar during the Kanwad Yatra period before 25 th July.

The government has although taken a decision to fill tankers with Ganges water to be supplied outside Haridwar to enable pilgrims procure the pious Ganges water maintaining Covid 19 protocols and regulations. It may be recalled that the elections in both the states Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are due in 2022 and the governments of both these states do not want to annoy the Kanwad Yatries but compulsions of pandemic has resulted in applying ban in Uttarakhand. However, according to the CM Pushkar Singh Dhami after holding high level meeting with the officers of all the stake holder states like UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh all the bureaucrats admitted to the fact that holding of Kanwad Yatra will result in havoc like situation becoming another massive super spreader of dreaded pandemic spreading it at the pan India level, the consequence of which will be tremendously disastrous.

The chief minister has categorically said that the life of human being are more important than anything else and even Lord Shiva would not like his devotees due to dreaded pandemic. Kindly recall that this positive decision of the Uttarakhand government has given a huge sigh of relief to the inhabitants of Uttarakhand already having suffered due to the consequences of Mahakumbh.

The 45 year old chief minister after taking this important decision has not only elevated his image giving a rebuff to his detractors but has also given massive relief to the inhabitants of the state.

Political analysts must be thinking that had the former CM Tirath Singh Rawat been conscious enough to foresee the severe implications of Mahakumbh and taken a decisive action not to organise it keeping in view the then trend of the disastrous Covid second wave, he would probably not have lost his CM ship, given to him on platter after his predecessor TSR’s sudden exit.

A petition was recently filed in Supreme court by a social activist Anu Pant through his counsel Abhay Raj Negi urging to give a halt to Kanwad Yatra in Uttarakhand.

Pic : Deccan Herald