New Road to Kailash Mansarovar | 09 May 2020

Why in News

Recently, the Defence Minister of India has inaugurated a new 80-km road in Uttarakhand connecting the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and opening a new route for Kailash Mansarovar yatra via Lipulekh Pass (China border).

  • It is scheduled to be completed by December 2022 and will significantly reduce the travel time for pilgrims.

Key Points

  • The Link Road is named as the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route under which the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) achieved road connectivity from Dharchula (Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand) to Lipulekh.
    • Lipulekh Pass also known as Lipu-Lekh Pass/Qiangla or Tri-Corner is a high altitude mountain pass situated in the western Himalayas with a height of 5,334 metre or 17,500 feet.
    • It is an International mountain pass between India, China and Nepal.
  • The road was made under directions of the China Study Group (CSG) and is funded by Indo-China Border Road (ICBR).
  • It was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 2005.
  • The last 5-km of the road could not be finished due to a temporary ban placed on the last-mile connectivity in 2016 by the Director General Military Operations, which is yet to be lifted.
  • Advantages:
    • It is the shortest and cheapest route with just one-fifth distance of road travel as compared to other old routes. The other route is via Sikkim.
    • There is no air travel involved and the majority of the travel (84%) is in India and only 16% in China compared to other routes where 80% road travel is in China.
    • Except for a 5-km trek, whole travel will be on vehicles reducing the 5-day trek to 2- days road travel.

Kailash Mansarovar

  • To Hindus it is the earthly embodiment of the dominant mountain of heaven, Meru, and the residence of Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati.
  • The Kailash range’s supreme peak lies in the Chinese-occupied Tibet at the height of 6,675 meters.
  • The pilgrimage to Kailash and to the sacred Mansarover lake that lies 30 km to its south, is run exclusively by a government organization, the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN).
    • The organization works in collaboration with the Government of India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of China.

Source: TH