The new route for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La in Sikkim will be operationalised during this yatra season beginning in June, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj informed the Parliament in a written reply on Wednesday.
“The route through Nathu La will augment the capacity and reduce the hardship enabling many pilgrims, particularly aged ones, to undertake the yatra,” the government said.
The understanding for the new route was reached between India and China during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India last year.
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The new route was necessitated as the current route through Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand is cumbersome and also the number of pilgrims increasing.
In the last three years about 1700 pilgrims had visited Mansarovar. With the addition of the second route, 1000 pilgrims are expected to undertake the yatra this year alone.
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As per the understanding, five batches of 50 pilgrims each are expected to travel through Nathu La this year.
A dedicated website has been set up and the application procedure has been simplified.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit China in May but External Affairs Ministry officials have denied reports that he would travel to Kailash Mansarovar.