50 Indians Denied Entry As Landslide In Mansarovar Creates Havoc

Around 50 Indian pilgrims were left stranded when China refused to give entry to the devotees who were en route to Kailash Mansarovar through the Nathu La pass in Sikkim. The Indian government had taken up the issue with Beijing.

Briefing to media, External Affairs Minister Spokesperson Gopal Reddy said that there were some difficulties are being experienced in the movement of pilgrims through Nathu La.

The development made its way when both of the countries were going through the political crisis including the CPEC and India’s NSG bid.

“Sources said 47 yatris and the liaison officer were stopped as roads in the Chinese side have been washed away by landslides triggered by continuous rainfall. The Indian pilgrims were informed that they would be allowed to enter China when the weather and the road conditions improve.”

On 15 June, the first batch of 47 pilgrimages arrived in Gangtok. The Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation is the nodal authority for conducting the annual yatra through Nathu La.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Kazakh capital Astana.
In the meeting, Modi had said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other’s core concerns, and appropriately handle their disputes.