KANWAR YATRA

(“We cannot compromise even a bit,” he said) , all on the same day, was not lost on the court.

“Given the disparate political voices, all speaking at the same time, it is important that the relevant secretary, Union of India, respond,” said the bench in its order, asking the Centre and governments of UP and Uttarakhand to file their replies by the morning of July 16 when the matter will be heard again.

Uttar Pradesh cancelled the yatra last year but is keen on holding it this year, especially with assembly polls in the state scheduled for early 2022.

The court noted that the yatra, in which Shiva devotees travel hundreds of kilometres to fetch water from the Ganga and carry it back to their homes, will begin from July 25, and hence, it is necessary to hear it urgently.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta was in the court on behalf of the Union government while Uttarakhand was represented by advocate Abhishek Atrey. A response from Uttarakhand has been necessitated since Haridwar is home to the yatra’s destination.

The bench also took note of a newspaper report that, in 2019, the last time the yatra was organised, nearly 35 million devotees visited Haridwar while over 20 million people visited pilgrimage spots in Western UP.

According to a transcript of his speech shared by the government after the PM’S interaction with the CMS of North-east states on Tuesday, Modi expressed concern over the crowds at hill stations and markets where people are not wearing masks or following Covid-19 protocols. Modi was meeting the CMS to take stock of the situation in the N-E states where cases have increased in recent weeks while most other parts of the country have shown a drop in new infections.

Later on Tuesday, at a press briefing in New Delhi, Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary in the Union health ministry, also said that people are violating Covid protocols across the country and “the third wave may be caused because of this behaviour.”

Months after the Mahakumbh drew 9.1 million devotees and seeded clusters of infections during the second wave, concerns have grown over the kanwar yatra.

Uttarakhand on Tuesday announced scrapping the annual pilgrimage this year, heeding warnings from health experts who cautioned that millions of devotees thronging the banks of the Ganga in Haridwar could spark a devastating third wave of Covid-19 infections and seed clusters of cases across north India.

The hill state also turned down a request from Uttar Pradesh, which allowed the pilgrimage — where Shiva devotees travel on foot or cycle to fetch water from the Ganga to their village shrines — to begin from July 25.

“We don’t want to make Haridwar the centre of Covid. People’s lives are our first priority,” said chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami following a meeting with state officials and experts on Tuesday.

On July 6, Uttarakhand decided to stop all kanwar devotees from entering the state, but decided to review its decision two days later after UP CM Yogi Adityanath called Dhami. Uttarakhand also goes to polls in early 2022. 11 per cent over the existing rate of 17 per cent of the basic pay/ pension,” said a release by the government.

“#Cabinet approves restoring of three instalments of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief with effect from 01.07.2021 representing an increase of 11% over the existing rate of 17% of the Basic Pay/pension. No arrears for the period from 01.01.2020 till 30.06.2021 shall be paid,” the official handle of Press Information Bureau (PIB) tweeted.

The Cabinet also announced a financial commitment of ₹9,800 crore by the Union government over the next five years starting from financial year 2021-22 for animal husbandry schemes such as Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), National Livestock Mission (NLM) and Livestock Census and Integrated Sample Survey (LC & ISS).

“This would leverage total investment of ₹54,618 crore in livestock sector including share of investments by State Governments, State Cooperatives, Financial institutions, External funding agencies and other stakeholder,” the government said in a press release.

“The Rashtriya Gokul Mission will help in development and conservation of indigenous breeds and would also contribute in improving the economic condition of the rural poor. The National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) scheme is targeted towards installation of about 8900 bulk milk coolers, thus providing benefit to more than 8 lakh milk producers and 20 LLPD (lakh litres per day) milk will be additionally procured.”

It has also approved a scheme to provide ₹1,624 crore over five years as subsidy to Indian shipping companies in global tenders floated by ministries and central public sector enterprises (CPSE) for import of government cargo.