Satisfied with the submission of Uttar Pradesh government that various Kanwar sanghs have mutually decided to call off this year’s Kanwar yatra, the Supreme Court on Monday disposed of the suo motu petition regarding the same. The UP government had filed an affidavit in this regard, informing the apex court about the decision of various Kanwar sanghs on which the Supreme Court was satisfied.
The apex court was also informed that the age-old custom of jalabhishek, considering religious sentiments, would be performed in a traditional manner locally adhering to the Covid protocols ensuring social distancing. The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier instructed the administration to establish communication with the Kanwar associations so that the right decision could be taken regarding the organisation of the yatra.
The Supreme Court, however, has taken cognisance of the decision of the Kerala government to ease the curbs in view of Bakrid despite the state having a very high positivity rate of 10.96 per cent. The apex court has asked the state of Kerala to file its response by Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
Last year too, the Kanwar sanghs had announced to call off the yatra.
Uttar Pradesh, continuing the downward trend, saw a drop in the daily Covid test positivity rate (TPR) -- the number of positive cases against the total tests done -- to 0.02 percent, the lowest in the country. The test positivity rate shows the level of infections in the state which has been maintained at its lowest in Uttar Pradesh.
In addition, Uttar Pradesh, by conducting maximum tests in the country, has also been able to restrict the number of fresh COVID-19 cases below 100 for over a week now.