IG Sanjay Kumar Gunjyal who was appointed as liaison officer by the Centre and the State Government for the 18th team of the Kailash Mansarova Yatra reached Dehradun on completing the pilgrimage on Friday. He said that the yatra that involves climbing 10,000 feet had been completed in a record time of 25 days this year.
He said that shops, set up at various places along the Yatra routes, had helped the pilgrims a great deal.
Gunjyal led a team comprising 38 pilgrims which embarked on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from Delhi on August 16. Out of them, three pilgrims were from Denmark, France and Dubai and the remaining 35 hailed from ten different States. Eight women were also members of the yatra.
He further informed that earlier, the yatra used to pass through Nepal. But this year, the yatra was conducted via Sikkim. In all, 712 pilgrims had embarked on the yatra divided in 18 batches. Each of them paid around `2.5 lakh for the yatra. The IG said `18 crore had been spent on the yatra. “The yatra proved beneficial to the people living in the remotest areas along the route as it helped them earn money by catering to the pilgrims’ needs,” he said.
The yatra route is open for the pilgrims for three months. This was the first time when SDRF personnel were deputed along the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra routes, IG informed, adding that they were well- equipped with modern gadgets to carry out rescue and relief operations in case of
emergency.