China has raised travelling charges for devotees of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage to facilitate entry to the Holy Kailash Mansarovar. With the Chinese Government revising the travelling expenses from this year, now pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar 'yatra' will have to pay US $100 per head more to visit the Holy Kailash Mansarovar via Tibet/ China across the Himalayan border.
It may be recalled that till last year, the devotees had to pay a total US $801 for travelling in the Chinese territory on way to the Holy Kailash Mansarovar. Now they will have to pay US $901 to visit Kailash Mansarovar via Tibet/ China. However, there is no change in rest of the travelling and other expenditures that the pilgrims have to pay for this pilgrimage starting from New Delhi to Kailash Mansarovar.
"China has raised tariff to US $901 per head this year for allowing devotees undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar yatra to travel in its territory on way to the Kailash Mansarovar," DK Sharma, Divisional Manager, Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), told The Pioneer in an exclusive interview.
However, rest of the charges will remain same: `32,000 per devotee this year too, he added. The KMVN looks after the hospitality aspect, including travel expenses of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, Sharma said preparations for this year’s Kailash Mansarovar yatra have begun. People interested in undertaking this pilgrimage may obtain application forms from the department concerned. However, as the official concerned said, as many as 18 batches of 60 pilgrims each, would go on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage this year too.
Earlier, only 16 batches of pilgrims used to visit Kailash Mansarovar. But from last year, the number of batches of pilgrims has been raised to 18. So, this year, too, as many as 18 batches of pilgrims would be sent on this pilgrimage, added Sharma.
At the same time, timing of this pilgrimage will remain the same. Now, the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar would commence this year too from June 12. Earlier, the same pilgrimage used to commence from New Delhi on June 1. But interestingly, from last year, the timing of the said pilgrimage had been rescheduled to start from June 12. This pilgrimage commences from New Delhi and is conducted under the overall supervision of the Ministry of External Affairs as part of the pilgrimage route also falls in the Tibetan/ Chinese territory.
The KMVN looks after the travel and hospitality aspects of the pilgrims, while ITBP, that guards the Indo-Tibetan border, takes care of the safety and security of the pilgrims during their Himalayan sojourn.
At the same time, the pilgrimage route that starts from New Delhi to Kailash Mansarovar via different mountain destinations, including Almora, Dharchula, Narayan Ashram, Sirkha, Gala, Bundi, Gunji, Nabhidhang, lipupass, Takulakot and then the holy shrine, Kailash Mansarovar would also remain same this year.
last year, the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage had to be cut short on account of the disaster that had wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand during June.