Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated a new route to Kailash-Mansarovar that passes through the Lipulekh Passes in Uttarakhand, very close to the Line of Actual Control.
The road starting from Ghatiabagarh, ends at Lipulekh pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar.
The opening of this road is set to reduce the pilgrimage time to a week. The new road makes this route the shortest and the least expensive way to reach Mount Kailash.
The 80-km stretch connects the sacred abode and the Lipulekh pass at a height of 17,000 feet. Kailash-Mansarovar located in the Tibetan Autonomous Region is just 90 kms away from Lipulekh pass.
“With the completion of this crucial road link, the decades old dreams and aspirations of the local people and pilgrims have been fulfilled,” the Defence Minister said.
He said that local trade and economy will also get a boost with the operationalization of the road.
The road is also strategically crucial for mobilisation and easy movement of troops.
While in the other routes to Kailash, the a majority of travel is through China, this stretch ensures that the most of the travel is through India.
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier said that the road will be completed by April 2020. Since the portion between Lakhanpur and Bundi posed challenges, the completion of the project took time.
The construction of the road began in 2008 and was supposed to be completed in 2013.