Kailash Mansarovar yatra likely to be put off this year due to COVID-19 pandemic

It is almost certain that the annual ‘Kailash Mansarovar Yatra’ to the revered Hindu pilgrimage place of Kailash mountain and Mansarovar lake in China will not be held this year. Although there is no official word whether it would be conducted, the lack of any preparation has indicated that the yatra has been put off due to the Coronavirus pandemic this year.

Officials of the Kumoan Mandal Vikas Nigam, (KMVN), Uttarakhand government’s nodal agency for the pilgrimage, have expressed doubt about the conduct of the pilgrimage through Lipulekh pass due to fear of Coronavirus pandemic.

Usually, the pilgrimage would start in the second week of June every year but the preparations for the yatra used to be held two months in advance. The advance parties of KMVN used to visit their staying facilities en route Kailash Mansarovar and make adequate arrangements for the stay of the pilgrims.

The Union Ministry for External Affairs used to invite applications from desirous pilgrims and KMVN used to make arrangements for the boarding and lodging of the pilgrims going to Kailash Mansarovar through Lipulekh pass in Pithoragarh district.

The yatra through the 17,500 feet Lipulekh pass begins by the second week of June every year for which preparations are made by the KMVN, Pithoragarh district administration and the ITBP. No such meeting, which used to be held in month of February, has been held this year.

The yatra is organized through two different routes – Lipulekh pass (Uattarkhand ) and Nathu La pass (Sikkim). The Sikkim government had announced in April this year that no yatra or border trade will be held due to Coronavirus pandemic.

However, there is no official word from the Union government yet and the state government officials are tight-lipped on the issue.