Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: Better weather helps evacuation

Better weather on Tuesday helped in the evacuation of pilgrims on the Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa route of the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the government has said.

Citing the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, the external affairs ministry said ina statement that because of clear weather on Tuesday, 23 flights operated on the Nepalgunj-Simikot sector and 27 chopper flights operated on the Simikot-Hilsa sector.

"First Secretary (Consular) Pranav Ganesh visited Hilsa today," the ministry statement said.

"He met district civilian and police officers and saw logistics available at Simikot and Hilsa. While Simikot has accommodation available for around 400 persons, Hilsa has no facility for more than 150 or so," it stated.

While there is no pendency at Hilsa, at Simikot, there is normal flow of pilgrims to and from Hilsa.

"If the weather remains clear, the situation would remain normal. But in case of weather deteriorating, backlog would build up again," the statement added.

--IANS

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