Director General of ITBP, SS Deswal visited Lipulekh pass to review the arrangements and the conditions for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Deswal also appealed to people to keep the Himalayas clean and contribute to making its ecosystem balanced. “The Himalayas are the beautiful heritage of mankind; people coming here should try to keep it pristine. Pilgrims, tourists, mountaineers and other people coming to the mountains should always try to take the garbage back and to dump it at designated places from where it can be further disposed of,” the Director General said. “ITBP will be disposing of the garbage collected by the people from this mountain foot route,” he said. Lipulekh Pass, located at a height of 17,060 feet and is the traditional route of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Deswal was accompanied by other officials also cleaned the area by collecting garbage and took it to the base for its disposal. The first batch of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims on Thursday reached ITBP Camp in Mirthi through the Lipulekh route. The 58-member batch was flagged off on June 11 from the national capital by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The Ministry of External Affairs organises the annual Yatra via two different routes – Lipulekh Pass (Uttarakhand) and Nathu La Pass (Sikkim). Thousands of devotees participate in the Yatra through a treacherous route that crosses territorial boundaries of India, Nepal and China. According to the schedule this year, 18 batches will trek across the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand while 10 other batches will go via the Nathula route to Sikkim. Each batch comprises 50 people. While the Liplekh route passes through a very mountainous area, the fully motorable Nathu La route that opened a few years ago requires minimum walking and will, therefore, help senior citizens participating in the yatra.
