The annual Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage that began this year from June 12, has been suspended due to the natural calamity.
Following this decision of the Government, the second batch of the pilgrims stranded at Almora since June 16, returned to Kathgodam on Thursday. Now resumption of this pilgrimage will depend on the meeting of July 2 in New Delhi where officials concerned of the Ministry of External Affairs and other departments like KMVN will decided about it, RC Pandey, in charge of KMVN’s Kathgodam unit, told The Pioneer.
This is the first time that the annual pilgrimage of the Kailash Mansarovar had to be suspended at the initial stage in fact after the first batch, Pandey said. Though in the past too, the Kailash Mansarovar yatra had to be cancelled on a few occasions. But that was done then only after visit of 12 or 13 batches out of a total 16 batches due to bad weather conditions, he added.
This year there are a total 18 batches. But keeping in view bad weather conditions now the second, third, fourth and fifth batches won’t be able to travel on this pilgrimage. Now, the sixth batch may go on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage only when the officials concerned give their approval for resumption of this pilgrimage at this July 2 meeting, Pandey said.
Meanwhile, the devotees of the second batch who returned from Almora to Kathgodam after the Government’s decision to suspend the pilgrimage, have demanded to accommodate them in other batches if the pilgrimage resumes later on after July 2. “We have to stay at Almora for three days. We don’t have any complaint. But the Government must adjust us in other batches as and when the pilgrimage begins,” said Utkal Sumanbhai Patel from Ahmedabad.
Similar sentiments were expressed by other devotees. “We don’t want to get refunded our travel expenses after cancellation of our visit. But we must be accommodated in rest of the batches as and when the pilgrimage is restarted,” said Ajay, a native of Delhi.
There are a total 53 pilgrims in the second batch i.e. 32 male and 21 female. Out of the 53 pilgrims, a maximum number of pilgrims i.e. 21 are from Gujarat, followed by 11 from Delhi, four each from Maharashtra and Rajasthan, three each from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, two each from Chandigarh and Uttarakhand and one each from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.