DEHRADUN: Kailash Mansarovar Yatra may be cancelled this year as no intimation from the Centre has been received yet by the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, the Uttarakhand state government body responsible for arrangements of the yatra in Uttarakhand.
Beena Suyal, tourism development officer, said, "We have not received any intimation from Union home ministry for the schedule of the yatra. We are guessing that this year the yatra may not happen."
Preparations generally start three months before in June when the first batch of yatris arrives in Kathgodam of Nainital district.
Meanwhile, after Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday morning inaugurated a 75 km long Kailash Mansarovar road link in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh via video-conferencing, officials in Uttarakhand said that the road is expected do cut the time of pilgrimage by almost a week.
The construction of this strategic road stretch began in 2008, and it was scheduled to be completed in 2013. It got delayed due to the tough terrain between Nazang and Bundi villages.
Apart from the KMVN, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is another government body that plays a key role in the yatra. "Meeting on the preparations related to the yatra which was scheduled with the ministry of external affairs along with the nodal agency KMVN, has not yet taken place this year," an official from the force said on the condition of anonymity.