Heavy snowfall in Kashmir’s Srinagar might dampen the celebratory spirit of the closing ceremony of Congress’s pan-India foot march ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, scheduled for today.
Congress is organising a mega rally at Sher-I-Kashmir Cricket Stadium to mark the end of 135-day long Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra. Besides the entire Congress leadership, over a dozen leaders from opposition parties are expected to attend the rally.
However, the snowfall has forced the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, and may disrupt air traffic as well. Many opposition leaders who were expected to arrive for the finale of the yatra, led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, might not be able to make it.
Low visibility and continuous snowfall has delayed all flights to Srinagar, Kuldeep Singh Rishi, Srinagar’s airport director said on Twitter. Vistara Airlines has cancelled both its flights from Delhi to Srinagar for the day.
The closing ceremony will start with a flag-hoisting event at the Congress office in Srinagar, followed by a rally at the stadium. 21 parties were invited for the function, but some are not attending due to security concerns, sources said. Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and TDP are among the parties to skip the function.
The “padyatra” concluded at the Lal Chowk area on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi unfurling the national flag, but the official closing would take place on Monday in Srinagar, which is witnessing snowfall.
The 12 parties confirmed to attend are — MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Tejashwi Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, CPI(M), CPI, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Kerala Congress, Farooq Abdullah-led Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti’s Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Shibu Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
The Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra started from the southern tip of the country on September 7 and ends on January 30 in Srinagar, after covering 3,970 km in 12 states, and two Union territories.
Rahul Gandhi held over 100 corner meetings, and 13 press conferences during the yatra. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will unfurl the national flag at the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters and also unveil a memorial for the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The rally would be held after that.
Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said at a press conference that the Bharat Jodo Yatra went from South to North, but it has had a countrywide effect, and asserted that the march gave an alternative vision to the country.