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.
Landslides triggered by heavy rain cut off large parts of northern and eastern Sikkim, including Nathula pass, while efforts were being made to restore connectivity, officials said on Friday.
"Indian yatra to Kailash and Manasrovar is an important part of China-India people-to-people and cultural exchanges... The two sides agreed that a total of 350 yatris in seven batches would take part in yatras to Xizang through Nathula Pass this year," the spokesperson of Chinese embassy in India 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.
Disclosing this, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the finance ministry has agreed to release additional Rs 100 crore for this purpose.
A team of the Central Pollution Control Board, which visited the fabled Silk Route in 2007, a year after it was reopened for cross border trade between China and India, found that expansion of the trade route was disturbing the ecosystem of the area. "Reopened with an aim to boost trade between China and India, ongoing expansion of one of the world's highest navigable roads is in progress without any precaution of the possible environmental impact," the Board said.
The long-awaited Sino-Indian border trade through the Nathula Pass in East Sikkim will resume next month.
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A camp bed is kept for him and his boots are polished and uniform kept ready every night. The sheets are reportedly crumpled every morning and boots muddy by evening.
It will be the dawn of a new era in Sino-Indian bilateral ties tomorrow when border trade between the world's two most populous nations resume through the famed Nathula pass after a gap of over four decades.
Patil may discuss with the state administration the issue of deployment of central paramilitary forces along the state's borders with China and Nepal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China on May 26.
Sitharaman had a brief conversation with Chinese soldiers during her maiden visit to the Nathu La border post in Sikkim.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China needs closer scrutiny, says Rup Narayan Das.
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