Ban on Kawad Yatra: Devotees buy Gangajal from post offices in western Uttar Pradesh

With the traditional "Kawad Yatra" being banned in the wake of the Covid crisis, many devotees are going to post offices in western Uttar Pradesh to buy bottles of Gangajal.

In Bareilly city, 350 bottles have been sold in the past six days, an official said.

Post Master General Sanjay Singh, who is the incharge for western UP, said over 300 post offices have been made sales centres in the region.

Due to the ban on "Kawad Yatra," people will not be able to go to Uttarakhand but Gangajal collected from Gangotri is available at select post offices in all major cities, he added.

The postal department has kept the price for a 250 ml bottle at Rs 30, he said, adding that the sale is expected to increase on Mondays.

While 190 bottles of Gangajal were sold from the head post office, 160 were sold from other post offices in the city, Bareilly’s Senior Postmaster P K Singh said.

The annual "Kawad Yatra" was banned amid fears of the third coronavirus wave.