After UP, Delhi govt cancels Kanwar Yatra

New Delhi, July 18: Delhi government has cancelled the Kanwar Yatra amid fear of a possible third wave of coronavirus. The yatra was scheduled to start on July 25.

"The Kanwar Yatra has been banned in Uttarakhand, but despite this, there is a risk of the spread of the virus due to crowding or taking out processions, in view of which this decision has been taken," the order by Delhi Disaster Management Authority said.

The DDMA order came a day after the yatra was cancelled in Uttar Pradesh.

The yatra usually goes on till the first week of August and sees thousands of Shiva devotees, called ''kanwariyas'', travelling mostly on foot from neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, to collect water from the Ganges in Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

Earlier this week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that governments should take every step to prevent the spread of COVID-19.