Advanced preparations underway to resume Kailash Manasarovar Yatra: China

Beijing: Advanced preparations are on between China and India to resume the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra for the Indian pilgrims this summer, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The Yatra will be resumed after a gap of nearly five years after its initial suspension in 2020.

Indian pilgrimage to Mt Kailash and Manasarovar in the Tibetan autonomous region of China is an important part of the cultural and people-to-people exchange between the two countries, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a media briefing here.

The mountain and the lake are sacred for believers of several religions, including Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism, he said.

As agreed between China and India, the pilgrimage will be resumed this summer. The two sides are advancing relevant preparations at the moment, Guo said.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-India diplomatic ties, he said, adding that Beijing stands ready to work with New Delhi to earnestly deliver on the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries and advance the sound and stable development of bilateral relations.

Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that the Yatra is set to take place from June to August via two routes -- Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim.

The pilgrimage holds religious significance to Hindus as well as Jains and Buddhists.

"This year, five batches, each consisting of 50 Yatris, and 10 batches, each consisting of 50 Yatris, are scheduled to travel through Uttarakhand state crossing over at Lipulekh Pass, and through Sikkim state crossing over at Nathu La Pass, respectively," the MEA said in the readout on April 26.

The 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 LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The militaries of India and China completed disengagement of troops at the two remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang under a pact sealed on October 21 last year.

After that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in the Russian city of Kazan and agreed to revive various bilateral dialogue mechanisms.

Following the Modi-Xi talks, the two sides held a series of meetings in the last few months aimed at normalising the bilateral relations.

The Yatra was stated to be the first among the steps being initiated by the two countries to normalise the relations.