Kailash-Mansarovar yatra to begin on June 12

NAINITAL: With just six days left for Kailash-Mansarovar yatra to commence, preparations for making the journey comfortable for the pilgrims are in full swing. Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) will provide food and lodging as well as arrange for travelling and medical facilities of the pilgrims.
The pilgrims who will arrive at Kathgodam in batches.. A total of 18 batches of pilgrims are scheduled to arrive at Kathgodam from June 12 from where they will be taken to Almora. Each group comprises 60 pilgrims and will arrive in gaps of four days.
“We will welcome the pilgrims in the traditional way with Kumaoni folk music and dance. They will be served Kumoani cuisine along with other food items to make them experience the local culture and tradition. A cultural evening is planned for the pilgrims at Almora,” said D K Sharma, divisional manager, KMVN.
The talks are in the pipeline for airlifting small vehicles to Gunji by using Indian Air Force choppers. “If the proposal materializes, around 20 km of motorable distance will be covered by vehicles instead of by foot,” added Sharma.
Medical teams with doctors and other medical facilities will be posted at four locations — Sirkha, Boondi, Gala and Gunji. Besides necessary equipment, the posts will also stock oxygen cylinders for pilgrims. Apart from the four medical posts, 20 medical teams will travel with the pilgrims and will comprise a doctor and a ward boy.
Indo-Tibet Border Police will look after the medical facilities from Gunji to Lipulekh pass. A make-shift hospital has already been set up by the ITBP for pilgrims.
The pilgrims will leave for Narayan Swami ashram from the KMVN base camp in Dharchula on June 13. They will be put up at fabricated huts resistant to snowfall in high altitude stoppages like Circa, Gala, Budhi and Gunji. Those who will clear the high altitude medical check-up at Gunji on June 17, and then proceed to Nabhidang.
The Yatra for 2015 will be conducted through two routes — Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim. The new motorable route through Nathula was added after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s visit to China in September 2014.