PITHORAGARH (UTTARAKHAND), Apr 30: The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Uttarakhand’s Lipulekh pass will begin in June this year with 500 pilgrims permitted to visit the sacred site in Tibet, officials said on Thursday.
The pilgrims will travel in 10 batches, with each group comprising 50 members, Pithoragarh District Magistrate Ashish Bhatgain said on Thursday.
Bhatgain said the decision came after a meeting in Delhi on April 27, chaired by the joint secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“The meeting involved officials from all concerned departments to finalise the yatra framework,” the DM said.
Bhatgain said the MEA will announce the exact dates for the pilgrimage later. “We have started preparations for the yatra,” he added.
The ministry is yet to decide on the nodal agency and the specific conduct protocols for the pilgrimage, the officials said.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which resumed last year after a hiatus of nearly five years, was suspended in 2020 due the Covid pandemic and subsequently because of the military standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh. (Agencies)
