New Delhi: Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the new route via Nathula Pass in Sikkim will begin from June 18, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday said. India and China had signed a bilateral agreement on the Nathula alternative route during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit here in September last year. The agreement provides for conducting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathula in addition to the existing Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand.

"The yatra through the new route will commence on June 18, whereas the Lipulekh route will open on June 8," Swaraj said adding that a total of 18 batches with 60 members each will be sent via the old route while 5 batches of 50 members each will be sent via the Nathula route.

The route through Nathula will augment the capacity and reduce the hardship and journey time enabling many more pilgrims, in particular aged pilgrims, to undertake the Yatra. The new route will be in addition to the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand through which the pilgrimage took place until last year. The External Affairs Minister also launched a dedicated website for the pilgrimage. The route through Nathula will augment the capacity and reduce the hardship and journey time enabling many more pilgrims, in particular the elderly, to undertake the Yatra.

"Till last year yatris had to take a difficult terrain through the Lipulekh pass. Generally only young and strong people could avail that. But the route via Nathula pass is completely motorable so infirm people can just take a vehicle to reach there," Swaraj said.

The Minister added that she had requested her Chinese counterpart to explore the possibilities of opening the route following which the issue was raised by Modi at his meeting with the Chinese President. Swaraj also launched a website, kmy.gov.in, a comprehensive repository of information pertaining to the yatra, apart from launching a helpline by making the first call. "Earlier KMY information was available on the Foreign Ministry website itself but this new bilingual independent website covers all that one needs to know on the yatra," she said.

According to MEA, the helpline, 01124300655 was equipped to take 10 calls simultaneously and to answer varied queries on the pilgrimage. A set of posters were also released by Swaraj on the occasion. Known for its religious values and cultural significance, Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, is undertaken by hundreds of people every year between June and September.