Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact")
Kailash Mansarovar Photograph: (ANI)
There are reports of departures for the yatra to Kailash Mansarovar being halted for next 48-72 hours out of safety concerns.
Flash floods in Nepal have claimed at least 95 lives and caused massive destruction to infrastructure in the region. While close to 400 pilgrims among which 108 are Indians undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a sacred high-altitude pilgrimage site consisting of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibetan, revered by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Bon followers have lost contact.
According to preliminary data released by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) 384 travellers were scheduled to cross into Tibet on Wednesday for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra but they have been out of contact in the Rasuwagadhi border area.
There is no formal order from the Government of Nepal or the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) cancelling the Yatra yet. However, there are reports of departures for the yatra being halted for next 48-72 hours out of safety concerns.
The Ministry of External Affairs selected 1,000 Indian pilgrims for its officially organised Kailash Mansarovar Yatra this year. The pilgrims take the yatra for Kailash Mansarovar through two routes - Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim.
So far 941 pilgrims have completed the journey. But there are private operators also who take Indian pilgrims through Nepal to Kailash Mansarovar.
What caused the flash floods?
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Preliminary information suggest that a magnitude 4.4 earthquake in Tibetan territory may have triggered an avalanche that led to the devastating flash flood in Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake struck Tibetan territory at around 8:37 am, approximately 47 kilometres north of Gosainkunda.
While, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority say that a glacier-inclusive flood occurred in the Lhende River due to a snow-rock landslide on the Nepal-China border about 20 kilometers northeast of the Nepal-China Rasuwagadhi border crossing.
As sequence of events is still being assessed, authorities and experts are investigating whether the earthquake in the Tibetan territory had any role to play in the avalanche that led to the sudden release of water in Bhotekoshi River.
