Uttarakhand: The Uttarakhand government has decided to call off the annual KanwarYatra for the second year in a row in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. A decision in this regard was taken by CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday.

At the same time, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to go ahead with the pilgrimage with strict curbs in place to contain the spread of infection. CM Yogi Adityanath directed officials to ensure that devotees are allowed to take part in the KanwarYatra only after they present a negative RT-PCR test report.

UP CM Adityanath even dialed Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami, requesting him to allow a limited number of devotees from the state to visit Haridwar for the Kanwar Yatra, according to sources.

Interestingly, both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are set to go to the polls next year.

What is Kanwar Yatra? The Kanwar Yatra is a two-week-long annual pilgrimage undertaken during the month of Shravan as per the Hindu calendar. Devotees of Lord Shiva travel to Haridwar either on foot or by bicycle to fetch holy water from the river Ganga for their local village shrines. This year, the KanwarYatra is set to begin on July 25.

Lauding the UP government's decision to allow the Kanwar Yatra, Mahant Raju Das of Hanuman Garhi in Ayodhya said the pilgrimage should be undertaken with Covid protocols." It is upsetting that the Uttarakhand government has called off the Kanwar Yatra, especially at a time when tourist spots in the state continue to receive crowds from across the country," said Mahant Raju Das.