U'khand govt to send Ganga water to states as Kanwaryatra not being held

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government will send the holy Ganga water in brass urns from Harkipauri in Haridwar to all states and Union territories for Shiva devotees as the annual Kanwaryatra is not being held this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief ministers of all states have expressed their inability to conduct Kanwaryatra in the traditional way owing to coronavirus.

So it has been decided to dispatch brass urns filled with the holy Ganga water from Haridwar to these states, Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister and state government's spokesman Madan Kaushik told reporters. Large brass urns filled with the holy Ganga water at Harkipauri will be loaded into trucks and sent to the chief ministers, Lt governors and ministers of the states and Union territories for distribution among Shiva devotees, he said.

"CMS of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have agreed that traditional Kanwaryatra is not possible this year. So we have decided to send Ganga water from Haridwar in large brass urns to these states in trucks for distribution among people through their respective governments," he said. Availability of the holy Ganga water for devotees who come as kanwariyas annually to Haridwar will be ensured at prominent temples closest to the place where they live, he said.

NEW DELHI: With the coronavirus pandemic still accelerating, impacting lives and livelihoods and causing fear and anxiety among people, the World Health Organization on Thursday called upon countries in the South-east Asia Region to pay a greater attention to mental health and suicide prevention.

Stigma related to COVID19 infection may also lead to feeling of isolation and depression, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-east Asia Region, said.

She said another precipitating factor impacting the mental health amid COVID-19 could be domestic violence, which is reported to have increased during the lockdowns imposed by almost all countries in the region to slow the spread of the virus.

Hitting lives and livelihoods, the pandemic is causing fear, anxiety, depression and stress among people. Social distancing, isolation and coping with perpetually evolving and changing information about the virus has both triggered and aggravated existing and pre-existing mental health conditions which need urgent attention, Singh said.

Early identification of mental health conditions, recognition of suicidal behaviours and appropriate management through a multi-sectoral approach is important, even as we continue to focus on arresting the further spread of the pandemic, she underlined.

Singh said suicide claims almost 8,00,000 lives every year globally and is the leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29 years.

Evidence shows that for each adult who dies of suicide, there are more than 20 others attempting suicide, the WHO Regional Director said.

The WHO South-east Asia Region accounts for 39 per cent of global suicide mortality, she said. Though preventable, suicide is a serious public health problem. Survivors of suicide attempts and their family often face stigma and discrimination in many forms. The impact of suicide on families, friends and communities is devastating and far-reaching," Singh noted.

In these challenging times, we must work towards providing a comprehensive, integrated and responsive mental health and social-care services in community-based settings, as outlined in the WHO South-east Asia Region's Suicide Prevention Strategy, she said.