Following the Union Government’s decision to close the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Union Minister for Water resource Harish Rawat, who was here to attend the review meeting led by Uttarakhand Congress in charge Ambika Soni, said that he would appeal Union Government to resume the Yatra because it is matter of faith even via chopper.
On August 1, union government had cancelled the entire Kailash Mansarovar Yatra due to "disruption of roads, bridges and tracks" in the wake of the torrential rains and consequent flash floods in Uttarakhand in June. In which thousands of people went missing following the cloud burst that left a trail of destruction in theState. "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 to cancel remaining batches 15-18," the ministry of external affairs, which organises the pilgrimage.
This year, the Yatra was to take place from June 9 to Sep 9 with 18 batches of approximately 60 pilgrims each taking the arduous journey, involving trekking at high altitudes of up to 19,500 feet 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 June 30. In 2012, a record number of 774 pilgrims took the Yatra, said the Ministry.