Computerised draw picks 750 pilgrims for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra
Five batches of 50 pilgrims will travel via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches of 50 via the Nathu La route in Sikkim
The pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake, set to resume after a gap of five years. (Photo:X)
New Delhi, May 21: A total of 750 pilgrims were chosen through a computerised draw of lots on Wednesday for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet which is taking place after a gap of nearly five years.
Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who conducted the computerised draw, said that the pilgrims were selected through a "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" selection process.
Organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), this year 5,561 people including 4,024 men and 1,537 women applicants had registered online for the pilgrimage.
They will travel in five batches of 50 pilgrims via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches of 50 Yatris each through the Nathu La route in Sikkim, according to the MEA.
"Both routes are now fully motorable, and involve very little trekking," a statement from the MEA, said.
In his address, Singh highlighted the steps taken by the government to make the Yatra more accessible and the process more transparent, while ensuring the safety and well-being of the pilgrims.
He called on the pilgrims to undertake the pilgrimage with a sense of responsibility, humility and mindfulness, while caring for each other as well as protecting the sanctity of the environment.
This year's pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The resumption of the Yatra is being seen as an attempt to normalise India-China relationship that was severely hit by the eastern Ladakh border standoff.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was suspended initially in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently because of the military standoff between the two sides on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in China's Tibet Autonomous Region holds religious significance to Hindus as well as Jains and Buddhists.
India and China are looking at a series of steps to repair ties following the disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
PTI