New Delhi, May 21: A total of 750 pilgrims were chosen through a computerised draw of lots on Wednesday for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet which is taking place after a gap of nearly five years.
The resumption of the Yatra is being seen as an attempt to normalise India-China relationship that was severely hit by the eastern Ladakh border standoff.
This year’s pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was suspended initially in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently because of the military standoff between the two sides on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region holds religious significance to Hindus as well as Jains and Buddhists.
The MEA is the organiser of the pilgrimage.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh conducted the computerised draw for selection of the people who had registered online for the pilgrimage.
The pilgrims were selected in the draw through a “fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced” selection process, the MEA said.
It said 5,561 people including 4,024 men and 1,537 women applicants had registered online for the pilgrimage. A total of 750 pilgrims were selected, it said.
They will travel in five batches of 50 pilgrims via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches of 50 Yatris each through the Nathu La route, according to the MEA.
“Both routes are now fully motorable, and involve very little trekking,” it said in a statement.
In his address, Singh highlighted the steps taken by the government to make the Yatra more accessible and the process more transparent, while ensuring the safety and well-being of the pilgrims.
He called on the pilgrims to undertake the pilgrimage with a sense of responsibility, humility and mindfulness, while caring for each other as well as protecting the sanctity of the environment.
India and China are looking at a series of steps to repair ties following the disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The disengagement of troops at the two remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang were completed under the provision of a pact that was sealed on October 21 last year.
Two days later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in the Russian city of Kazan and agreed to revive various bilateral dialogue mechanisms.
Following the Modi-Xi talks, the two sides held a series of meetings in the last few months which were aimed at normalising the bilateral relations.
In January, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing and held talks with his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong.
In the meeting, the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to “stabilise and rebuild” ties. (PTI)
