By IANS,
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has requested the central government to consider the option of routing the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage in China through this hill state terming it more “convenient and shorter”.
In a missive to Union Minister for External Affairs S.M. Krishna, Dhumal wrote: “The pilgrims have to trudge miles of rugged, cold and inhospitable Himalayan terrain from Uttarakhand to Kailash Mansarovar. The same pilgrimage could be organised in a better way through Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh. This route would be convenient and shorter.
“It would be a two-day journey up to Reckong Peo in Kinnaur from New Delhi and the pilgrims could reach the border post Shipkila on the Indian side on the third day. From Shipkila, the holy lake of Mansarovar is just 91 km which can be mostly covered by road. Only a short distance is left for trekking.”
The chief minister noted that: “With the approval of the alternate route through Himachal Pradesh, the tourism sector would get further boost and generate employment and self-employment avenues to the youth.”
Every year hundreds of pilgrims are going on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage from June to September. This is one of the toughest pilgrimages among the Hindus.