The first batch of pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra were welcomed by the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) officials on their arrival at Kathgodam here on Sunday afternoon.
The first batch for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra consists of 55 pilgrims who had earlier departed from Delhi after a programme attended by the External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj among others.
The KMVN general manager Trilok Singh Martolia welcomed the first pilgrim batch at the corporation’s tourist rest house here. Tilak was applied on the brows of the pilgrims who were also garlanded in welcome to the sound of Kumaoni folk music.
Addressing the pilgrims on the occasion, Matrolia said that the KMVN has been facilitating the Kailash Mansavor Yatra through Uttarakhand since 1981. He further said that so far a total of 406 groups of pilgrims and about 14,317 pilgrims have undertaken the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the corporation.
The pilgrims will be taken via the traditional lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand onward to Kailash Mansarovar with the joint assistance of the corporation and the Indo-Tibet Border Police Force (ITBP). The official further said that a total of 2,500 persons had applied for undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra this year.
Of these, 1,400 applicants were selected through the lottery system. While about 350 pilgrims will undertake the pilgrimage on road via the Nathu la pass in Sikkim this year, 1050 pilgrims will take the traditional route via lipulekh pass.
Following the medical examination of pilgrims, the KMVN has received the list of persons in the first batch to Kailash Mansarovar. From Kathgodam, the first batch of pilgrims will travel to Almora for night halt after which on Monday the batch will depart from Almora towards the base camp at Dharchula in Pithoragarh district.
Dharchula onward, the pilgrims will proceed ahead on foot to reach the India-China border, he said. Martolia also averred that the corporation had made all necessary arrangements to look after the medical, food and shelter requirements of the pilgrims.