Jaishankar, Wang discuss resuming Mansarover Yatra flights

Context: A month after India and China agreed to disengage at
two friction points along the Line of Actual Control leading to a meeting
between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in
Russia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart
Wangi Yi discussed the next steps in India-China relations that include
resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, data sharing on
trans-border rivers, direct flights between India and China and media
exchanges. The Chinese readout of the meeting said the two sides are planning
to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India-China diplomatic ties and hold
events in both countries.

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.

Ø  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.

Ø  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.

·      
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 most 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.

·      
Significance
of Kailash mansarover: 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).