Lucknow, June 21 : The states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana have taken a joint decision of not allowing the annual 'kanwar' yatra that was scheduled to begin from July 6. The annual pilgrimage of Shiva devotees was a major event that had assumed even larger proportions in the Yogi regime with state helicopter showering petals on the devotees. In 2019, over 4 crore devotees visited Haridwar alone during the auspicious month of Saawan. According to a government spokesman, the decision to not allow the 'kanwar' yatra came after a video-conference between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand and Haryana -- Trivendra Singh Rawat and Manohar Lal Khattar respectively, late on Saturday night. Yogi also directed senior police officials and divisional commissioners to inform religious leaders, kanwar associations and peace committees about the decision. The government spokesperson said, "The Chief Minister has said that religious leaders and kanwar associations should, in turn, appeal to devotees not to take out the yatra this year in view of the pandemic. It has also been decided to strictly implement COVID-19 protocols during the Shiva temples in the month of 'Saawan'. The Shiva temples attract huge number of devotees during the month of 'Saawan' and the state government has decided not to allow more then five devotees in the temple at a time. A large number of Shiva devotees visit Shiva temples in Haridwar, Gaumukh and Garhmukhteshwar to take a holy dip in Ganga and they fill pots with Ganga Jal, which they then carry back to temples near their homes. The ban on 'kanwar' yatra is the fourth major decision in the COVID-19 times that has impacted festivals. All temples had remained shut during Navratri in April and then congregation of Muslims was disallowed during Eid. The Bada Mangal festival was also put off due to the pandemic. /IANS