[BREAKING] Villagers earn livelihood only during Char Dham Yatra: Uttarakhand Govt moves Supreme Court challenging High Court stay on Yatra

The Uttarakhand government has moved Supreme court challenging the June 28 order of Uttarakhand High Court which stayed the State government decision of June 25 to allow local pilgrims to participate in the Char Dham Yatra on July 1, 2021..In the appeal filed on July 6, 2021 through Advocate on Record Vanshaja Shukla, , the State government contended that the High Court did not appreciate the fact that livelihood of significant portion of the population living around Char Dham sites depends upon the Yatra..It was submitted that the villagers around the Char dham sites are unable to earn for roughly 6 months a year due to the harsh climate and weather and can only earn a living when the Yatra is on. .Uttarakhand government also contended that COVID-19 positivity rate in the districts of Char Dham sites are relatively low. For example, from June 15, 2021 to July 2, 2021, positivity rate was 0.64% in District Chamoli and 1.16% in Rudraprayag district, the plea said. .[BREAKING] Right of community will always take precedence over right of individual: Uttarakhand High Court stays Char Dham Yatra.The High Court order was passed by a Bench of Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Verma after taking into account the imminent threat due to a possible third wave of COVID-19 pandemic.“As pointed out by the scientific community, the victims of the third wave will be children. The loss of a child is not painful only to parents but the nation at large. In case the Delta Plus variant is permitted to play havoc with the lives of our children, the nation is bound to lose part of its next generation. Such an apocalypse would adversely affect the growth of the country,” the High Court had noted..After a detailed consideration of the facts and material on record, the High Court had held that the balance of convenience in the matter lay with the people of the country at largeIt had emphasised that should the predictions regarding third wave turn out to be true, children of the country could be affected and the damage will be catastrophic.It had, therefore, stayed the State decision.“It is in the interest of the public to stay the operation of cabinet decision dated June 25 and to direct the government not to permit pilgrims to reach Char Dham temples," the order said..The Bench also observed that since the Order of the State dated 25 June was not actually under challenge, it cannot be stayed.However, the Court shirked technical hurdles with the intent to protect citizens."Technicalities of law cannot come in the way of protection of the people. The writ petitions deal with the ways and means of containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.. over a period of time, this Court has been monitoring the steps taken by the State Government for containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.”