CURRENT AFFAIRS-MAY1

KEYWORDS: CULTURAL,HERITAGE,INTERNATIONAL RELATION, cooperation between India and China

1 1080 pilgrims selected for MansarovarYatra 

        

T            The pilgrims were selected through a computerised draw of lots in presence of Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh who described the Yatra as a “lasting symbol” of friendship and cooperation between India and China.

·         In a brief address, she said the pilgrims have been cultural ambassadors of India to China and were important contributors for deepening people-to-people contacts with the neighbouring country.

·         Every year, hundreds of people visit Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva, and take a holy dip in the sacred Manasarovar lake. The Yatra is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs.

·         The Government has been conducting the Yatra since 1981 in close cooperation with the Government of China under a bilateral arrangement.

·         The Yatra will pass through Uttarakhand and cross into the Tibet Autonomous Region via Lipulekh Pass(Lipulekh is a Himalayan pass connecting the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand in the Pithoragarh district in India with the old trading town of Taklakot (Purang) in Tibet. It has been used since ancient times by traders, mendicants and pilgrims transiting between India and Tibet. This is used by Manasarovar pilgrims. Presently, it is a border post manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.).

·         Last year, the government had to cancel the yatra in view of disruption of roads, bridges and tracks along the route due to floods that had hit Uttarakhand.