In the wake of the ban on Kanwar Yatra, the Uttarakhand Police on Saturday said it won’t allow people to enter the Haridwar border for celebrating the pilgrimage which starts on July 25.
“As Kanwar Yatra is banned, no person will be allowed to enter Haridwar border for celebrations. The same applies to buses and trains,” said Ashok Kumar, Uttarakhand director general of police.
https://twitter.com/timesofindia/status/1418868909889835008?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHowever, he added that there won’t be any restrictions on the movement of tourists within the state. They will have to submit the RTPCR report and register on Smart City Portal, Kumar informed.
“Police forces have been stationed on the borders of Haridwar district. They have been instructed to request those coming to the border to go back. If anyone persists, action will be taken,” Kumar said.
The Police chief also said that if someone sends a tanker in an orderly way, they will help them in collecting Gangajal.
The move to seal the borders of Haridwar came on the heels of the decision taken during the inter-state border meeting in Haridwar between the officers of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana, who decided to shut off the Har Ki Pauri ghat (river bank) in Haridwar for Kanwariyas from July 24 to August 6.
Every year, thousands of Kanwariyas, the devotees of Lord Shiva, visit Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri to collect the water of the river Ganga and offer it to their deity in major pilgrim centres during the Hindu month of Shravan.
However, this is the second straight year that the Kanwar Yatra has been stopped by the government in view of the coronavirus outbreak. Besides Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, too, have put a ban on the annual pilgrimage to avoid the spread of COVID-19.