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Kanwar Yatra: Better Sense Prevails

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-07-14 03:59:01

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Newly-appointed Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami needs to be congratulated for resisting pressure from several quarters, especially from his counterpart in UP, Yogi Adityanath, and taking a sensible decision in cancelling the kannwar yatra to Haridwar. Dhami said that "people's lives are important and we cannot play around with them. It is important to save lives during a pandemic. Even God will not like it if any lives are lost".

Uttar Pradesh had earlier taken the decision to allow the yatra. But Uttarakhand's former chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat had cancelled this year's yatra in the state. But when Yogi Adityanath had called up Dhani after his appointment and requested him to allow kanwariyas from UP to visit Haridwar in limited numbers, it was assumed that Dhami would not be able to resist the pressure from BJP's star leader. After Dhami said that he will take a decision after talking to other states, that assumption was strengthened.

But it seems wiser counsel has prevailed within the BJP. It is obvious that Dhami alone was not responsible for taking this decision. With new variations of coronavirus being detected in both UP and Uttarakhand, allowing more than 2 crore people to walk to Haridwar within a month would have been inviting trouble. Hence, it seems that the BJP top brass decided to advise Dhami to cancel the yatra. With PM Modi telling states to take measures to prevent the third wave, allowing the yatra, which had the potential to become a superspreader, would have looked foolish.

Mass gatherings cannot be disciplined as it is impossible to force each and every person to follow Covid-appropriate behavior. Hence, the best way is to ban such gatherings. After the Maha Kumbh was allowed and persisted with till the fag end despite rising Covid cases, it was expected that the kanwar yatra would also be allowed. But the decision to cancel it is appropriate and is welcome.

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