BRO's Kailash Mansarovar Link Road thrown open

After starting the construction in 2008, it's taken the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) 12 years to complete the 80km Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route, costing ₹430+ crores!

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated the crucial 80km Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route in Uttarakhand via a video conference. This important motorable stretch starts from Ghatibagarh (Dharchula, Uttarakhand) and goes up to the Lipulekh Pass, located at the India-China-Nepal tri-junction. At 17,000 feet, the Lipulekh Pass is the lowest section in the high Himalayas.

Delighted to inaugurate the Link Road to Mansarovar Yatra today. The BRO achieved road connectivity from Dharchula to Lipulekh (China Border) known as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route. Also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing. 

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh)

The construction of the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route was approved in 2008 and had a budget of about ₹80 crores. However, due to immensely challenging conditions posed by the 15km Nazang-Bundi stretch, the project got delayed by an additional 7 years. It's been built by the BRO, the organisation that looks after the road networks in India's border regions. To showcase the new route, a convoy of nine vehicles was flagged off from Pithoragarh (92km from Dharchula) to Gunji (69km from Dharchula).

The concrete road will help in reducing travel time between Dharchula and the villages located in the higher Himalayas. According to some locals, the travel time is likely to go down from 4-5 days to just 4 hours, which is a big achievement. It will also help the thousands who make the annual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, as well as the movement of the Border Security Forces (BSF) personnel in the region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx0A9KGafmI

Read more:

2020 Mahindra Adventure Snow Survivor: Ladakh expedition

2019 Hyundai Great India Drive: Driving a Venue from Delhi to Chanshal Pass