Border trade between India and China through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district is set to resume this year after a six-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
India has firmly rejected Nepal's objection to the upcoming Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand, dismissing Kathmandu's territorial claims over the region.
Nepal has reiterated its commitment to resolving the border issue with India through diplomatic channels, emphasising historical agreements and understanding.
India on Wednesday categorically rejected Nepal's objection to a decision by New Delhi and Beijing to resume border trade through Lipulekh pass, saying Kathmandu's claims on the territory are not justified.
Nepal has reiterated its claim over the Lipulekh territory, stating it is an inseparable part of the country, after India and China agreed to resume border trade through the area. The Nepalese government has incorporated the territory into its official map and Constitution. India has rejected Nepal's claims, asserting they are not based on historical facts or evidence.
Nepal's claim on Lipulekh and Kalapani reopens a 200-year-old border dispute, while historical maps and treaties show the area belongs to India, asserts Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung (retd).
Local land records also say the land at Kalapani and Lipulekh belongs to the residents of two villages on the Indian side of the border, an official recently said.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, will resume on June 30 after a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The yatra will be conducted in five groups of 50 people each, with the first group entering China via Lipulekh Pass on July 10 and the last group departing on August 22. The pilgrimage, which holds great religious significance for Hindus, involves circumambulating Mount Kailash and taking a bath in Lake Manasarovar, believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva.
Officials said that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started the work on cutting the road from KMVN Huts in Nabhidhang in Pithoragarh district to Lipulekh pass on the India-China border, which will be completed by September.
A six-kilometre-long tunnel will be constructed between Bundi and Garbiyang on the Ghatiabagar-Lipulekh road in Uttarakhand to make the way to the last border post of the Lipulekh pass on the India-China border smoother, a senior BRO official said on Tuesday.
The ministry of external affairs said the artificial enlargement of territorial claims by Nepal is not based on historical facts or evidence.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that India and China have reached an understanding to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in 2025. While an understanding has been reached, the modalities of the pilgrimage are yet to be firmed up. The Yatra has been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and non-renewal of Yatra arrangements by the Chinese side.
India and China have announced a series of measures aimed at improving their relationship, including maintaining peace along the border, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flights.
The 62nd Raising Day of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force was commemorated with great enthusiasm at the Seema Dwar in Dehradun.
The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.
Former Nepalese prime minister KP Sharma Oli claimed that he was removed from power last year after his government published a new map of Nepal that included Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh as its territories.
A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet, marking the resumption of the pilgrimage after a five-year gap. The Yatra's resumption is seen as an attempt to normalize India-China relations, which were strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, with pilgrims traveling in five batches via the Lipulekh route and ten batches via the Nathu La route. The selection process was deemed "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organized the pilgrimage.
Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory -- India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.
"India is open to engaging with all its neighbours on the basis of mutual sensitivity and mutual respect, in an environment of trust and confidence. This is a continuous process and requires constructive and positive efforts," Srivastava said.
His visit comes ahead of the upcoming official trip of Indian Army chief Gen M M Naravane to Nepal in the first week of November. Goel called on Prime Minister Oli at his official residence at Baluwatar on Wednesday evening, the premier's press advisor Surya Thapa told PTI.
"This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
Oli said the territories belong to Nepal 'but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there'. "Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army," he said.
India's ambassador to China is on a rare visit to Tibet to make preparations for the opening of a new route through Sikkim for Indian pilgrims to travel to the holy site of Kailash-Manasarovar which was agreed during last month's visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India.
Naravane is scheduled to meet Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Friday.
Gen Naravane on Tuesday said he was eagerly looking forward to the visit and exuded confidence that it will go a long way in strengthening the "bonds of friendship" between the armies of the two countries.
The government had registered the amendment proposal in Parliament on May 22 after releasing the new political map of Nepal depicting Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limipiyadhura as its territories on May 18.
Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic in Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said it has become very difficult for Nepal to contain the spread of the deadly virus due to the flow of people from outside.
Nepal recently released the revised political and administrative map of the country laying claim over the strategically key areas of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.
India last month reacted angrily to Nepal showing the three areas as Nepalese territory in the new map and cautioned the country that saying such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it. India has been maintaining that these three areas belong to it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced in Beijing that the second route for the Kailash-Manasarovar yatra will become operational from June.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday flagged off the first batch of pilgrims undertaking the annual yatra to Kailash Mansarovar in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.
The annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra began on Friday as the first batch of 58 pilgrims was flagged off by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat from Almora.
The Chief of Army Staff is scheduled to hold extensive talks with the top civilian and military brass of Nepal including his counterpart General Purna Chandra Thapa on a range of key issues such as further boosting the management of the nearly 1,800 km-long border between the two countries.
'Our rations are not only historical and cultural, but also spiritual, and India can never forget it'
Work is also progressing on 17 strategic highway-cum-airstrips, three of which have been completed, he said. Besides, work is on in full swing on the Rs 12,000 crore ambitious Chardham project for providing all-weather connectivity to Gangotri, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Badrinath.
India has already termed as untenable the 'artificial enlargement' of the territorial claims by Nepal after its Parliament unanimously approved the new political map of the country featuring Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas which India maintains belongs to it.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday flagged off the first batch of pilgrims for Kailash Mansarovar yatra in Tibetan Autonomous Region of China through a new route via Nathu La pass.
He claimed that India built a Kali temple, created 'an artificial Kali river' and 'encroached the Nepalese territory through deploying the Army' at Kalapani. The river defines the border between the two countries.
A house meeting has been scheduled for Saturday as per the Parliament's notice and the matter relating to the constitution amendment bill is likely to come during the meeting, parliamentary sources said. Meanwhile, in a conciliatory tone, India on Thursday said it deeply values its friendly ties with Nepal.
Now, the bill will undergo a similar process in the National Assembly, wherein the ruling Nepal Communist Party commands two-thirds majority.
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