Following Union Government’s decision to close the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Union Minister for Water Resources Harish Rawat, said that he would appeal the Union Government to resume the Yatra even via chopper as it was a matter of faith.
On August 1, the Union Government cancelled the entire Kailash Mansarovar Yatra due to “disruption of roads, bridges and tracks” in the wake of the torrential rain and consequent flash floods in Uttarakhand in June. Thousands of people went missing following the cloud burst that left a trail of destruction in the State. “In view of consistent disruption of roads, bridges and tracks on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route and in the interest of pilgrims’ safety and security, it has been decided that remaining batches (15-18) be cancelled,” said the Ministry of External Affairs, which organises the pilgrimage.
This year, the Yatra was to take place from June 9 to September 9, with 18 batches of approximately 60 pilgrims each taking the arduous journey, involving trekking at high altitudes of up to 19,500 ft under inhospitable conditions. The Ministry had earlier cancelled batches 11-14 on July 8. Batches 2-10 were cancelled in June following the Uttarakhand tragedy. Only one batch had proceeded before the floods and returned to Delhi on June 30. In 2012, a record number of 774 pilgrims took the Yatra, said the Ministry.