(TibetanReview.net, Jul10’25) – Indian pilgrims returning after visiting Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in eastern Tibet’s Ngari prefecture, stranded by the devastating Jul 8 Tibet-Nepal border flash floods, were safely evacuated via the Zhangmu (Tibetan: Dram) Port in Nyalam county on Jul 9, reported China’s official chinadaily.com.cn Jul 10. Indian media reports cited the pilgrims as saying their embassy in Kathmandu and their Tibetan tour guide ensured their swift evacuation.
Local authorities in Tibet’s Shigatse city responded swiftly, providing the pilgrims with supplies and organizing an alternative exit route, the report said, putting the number of pilgrims a 45.
The yatra nearly ended in disaster for these 23 travellers – 15 from Mumbai and eight from Dubai – said a timesofindia.com report Jul 10. They undertook their pilgrimage through a private tour operator, being not a part of the officially organized programme.
The report said the pilgrims turned to social media, news outlets and government channels for help due to expensive flight rates – almost nine times the usual amount – apart from lack of proper vegetarian meals and other difficulties.
The collapsed Miteri Bridge was effectively their only route back to Kathmandu, as flight operators were charging over ₹3.6 lakh per person for taking an alternative route via Lhasa, as opposed to the standard rate of ₹40,000, the hindustantimes.com Jul 9 cited some of the stranded pilgrims as saying.
The timesofindia.com report cited the pilgrims as saying the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, especially official RP Singh, coordinated with Nepalese authorities to secure transit permits through the Kodari (same as Zhangmu) crossing, long shuttered since 2015.
“After just seven hours, they figured things out,” advocate Simran Jumani has said.
The group’s guide, Palden Caip, negotiated at local police stations, while liaising with both Indian and Chinese officials. “He’s been our backbone, staying with us every step of the way,” Jumani has said.
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Meanwhile, the first batch of 45 Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrims passing through the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand state of India entered Tibet, situated at an altitude of 17,000 feet, on Jul 10 morning, reported the PTI news agency Jul 10, citing an official in the nodal agency for the pilgrimage.
The Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra was restarted in June this year after a five-year hiatus following the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and, subsequently, due to the military standoff between India and China in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control.
This year, a total of 750 selected Yatris are travelling in five batches of 50 Yatris each via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches of 50 Yatris each via the Nathu La route in Sikkim.