Kailash Manasarovar Yatra to Begin Through Uttarakhand and Sikkim This Year
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: The Union government has announced that the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra organised by the Ministry of External Affairs is set to take place from June to August this year.
The Yatra, which takes place in China's Tibet province, had been closed since 2020 – the year in which violent clashes between India and Chinese troops took place in eastern Ladakh. The fact that it is reopening this year is understood to be reflective of a thaw in tension between India and China.
On March 25, the MEA had announced that the two countries had made progress on deciding a process for the resumption of the Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrimage.
In a statement released today (April 26) it said that this year, five batches, each consisting of 50 pilgrims, will travel through Uttarakhand state crossing over at Lipulekh Pass.
Ten batches, each consisting of 50 pilgrims, are scheduled to go through Sikkim, crossing over at the Nathu La Pass.
Pilgrims can apply through the government portal (kmy.gov.in) and will be selected through what the government calls a "fair, computer-generated, random and gender-balanced selection process."
The freeze in India-China ties had also led to the prolonged suspension of direct flights originally implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The MEA statement does not mention whether those will resume.
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