New Delhi

The government of Uttrakhand has decided against holding Kanwar yatra, in which pilgrims walk to and from Haridwar and other streams of the river Ganga  in the month of July-August in view of the apprehensions of the third wave of Covid-19.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took this decision after holding several rounds of consultations with officials and medical experts.

He said the decision has been taken in view of the “urgency to save lives.”

Sources said the newly appointed Chief Minister was under pressure from Hindu groups to allow the pilgrimage. The Uttrakhand government had already faced flak for allowing the Kumbh pilgrimage is being attributed as one of the reasons for the spread of the second wave of Covid-19.

The pilgrimage, in which the pilgrims walk mostly alone to the Ganga or one of its tributaries and canals coming out of it, as a matter of faith to fetch its waters is barred for a second consecutive year because of the pandemic.

However, the pilgrims can still undertake it in Uttar Pradesh since the Yogi Aditya Nath government is making preparations for conducting it from July 25.

It remains to be seen if the Yogi government will review its decision in view of the fears about the spread of the Delta virus and the third wave.