The holy Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage began on Thursday with as many as 56 pilgrims reaching Uttarakhand as part of the first batch.
The pilgrims started their journey on Thursday morning from New Delhi and officials concerned of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) welcomed the pilgrims on their arrival here at Kathgodam later in the day. The devotees will be sent on the Himalayan pilgrimage in 18 batches and a maximum 60 pilgrims will go on the pilgrimage in each batch, said officials concerned of the KMVN which looks after the hospitality aspect of this Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
It may be recalled that the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage remained disrupted due to natural disaster last year. However, with the KMVN taking care of hospitality aspect of this pilgrimage, the district administration Pithoragarh and the Indo Tibet Border Police (ITBP) take care of the safety aspect of this pilgrimage.
Since poor connectivity is a major drawback in the upper Himalayan region in Pithoragarh, wireless communication devices would be put in place to track the location of the pilgrims of the holy Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage to be in touch with them during their Himalayan sojourn with necessary ground safety staff, as the officials concerned of the Pithoragarh district administration informed.
More so, necessary police force has also been deployed on all important destinations on way to the Kailash Mansarovar to ensure a safe and hassle free pilgrimage for the devotees, they added.
The pilgrimage of the Kailash Mansarovar commences from New Delhi and is conducted under the overall supervision of the Ministry of External Affairs.
At the same time the pilgrimage route starts from New Delhi to the Kailash Mansarovar via different hill tourist destinations including Almora, Dharchula, Narayan Ashram, Sirkha, Gala, Bundi, Gunji, Nabhidhang, lipu Pass and then the pilgrimage site Kailash Mansarovar.