New Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami faces catch-22 situation over Kawad Yatra

With the second surge of Covid-19 pandemic yet to ebb, Uttarakhand’s young chief minister Pushkar Dhami is facing a catch-22 situation as he may reconsider his predecessor’s decision to cancel the ‘Kawad Yatra’, where lakhs of devotees travel to Haridwar to collect water from river Ganga to offer at Shiva temples.

While the previous Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat had cancelled the annual ‘yatra’, undertaken during the month of Shravan, owing to the pandemic, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has allowed the pilgrimage that begins on July 25.

Reports had it that Adityanath had asked Dhami, who was appointed chief minister on July 4, to reconsider the decision to cancel the yatra.

Dhami said Uttarakhand was only the host as devotees travel to the hill-state from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

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“Over three crore Kawariyas visit the state in 15 days. It is a matter of faith but people’s lives are also at stake. Saving lives is our first priority. God would not like it if people lost their lives to Covid due to Kawad Yatra" Dhami said.

Discussions on Kawad Yatra figured during Dhami’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

Uttarakhand government had come under severe criticism for allowing the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar in March when lakhs of devotees thronged the banks of the river Ganga for holy bath, when the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic had started in some parts of the country.

Experts have warned against holding the yatra at a time when the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has not completely abated.

“Until people promise to the society that they will not misbehave, I think yatras are very dangerous,” S K Sarin, Director of Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences told ANI when asked about the holding of Kawad Yatra.

“It can be harmful if they don't follow Covid appropriate behavior, and should be cautiously monitored,” Sarin said.