The Kailash Manasarovar Yatra is being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs from end of May/early June to September 2008. The Yatra is open to all Indian citizens above18 years of age who wish to proceed to Kailash-Manasarovar for religious purposes.
2. The duration of the Yatra will be 26 days. In addition, Yatris will need to spend 4 days in New Delhi to obtain visas, undergo a comprehensive medical examination and complete financial formalities
3. In 2008 it is planned to send sixteen batches each consisting of a maximum of 60 pilgrims. The first batch is expected to depart from New Delhi in the last week of May/first week of June 2008. The Yatra is expected to continue till the end of September 2008. The last batch is expected to depart in end of August/beginning of September 2008. Batch schedules are as follows : Batch 1 : 29th May - 26th June, Batch 2 : 4th June - 02nd July, Batch 3 : 10th June - 8th July, Batch 4 : 16th June -14th July, Batch 5 : 22nd June - 20th July, Batch 6 : 28th June - 26th July, Batch 7 : 04th July - 1st August, Batch 8 : 10th July - 7th August, Batch 9 : 16th July - 13th August, Batch 10 : 22nd July - 19th August, Batch 11 : 28th July - 25th August, Batch 12 : 03rd August - 31st August, Batch 13 : 9th August - 6th September, Batch 14 : 14th August - 12th September, Batch 15 : 21st August - 18th September, Batch 16 : 27th August - 24th September 2008.
4. Applicants should ensure that they possess an INDIAN PASSPORT valid for more than six months
5. The total cost of the Yatra will include the following
(a) Rs. 19,250/- to be paid to Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), out of which Rs. 5,000/-, is to be paid as a non-refundable deposit when confirming participation in the Yatra, and the rest on arrival in Delhi to begin the Yatra.
(b) Rs. 1,950/- to be paid to ITBP to cover costs of medical examination / tests at Delhi. In case the individual requires a further Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) an additional Rs. 500/- would be charged for that particular test from the concerned Yatri only. In case the individual is required to undergo a Stress Echo Test, an additional Rs. 2,500/- would be charged for that particular test from the yatri concerned. These charges are non-refundable .
(c) US$ 700/- to be paid to the Chinese side.
(d) Expenditure on adequate equipment, clothing, food stores, porters, baggage, ponies and other items required for the Yatra.
6. Yatra is extremely arduous (more so than the Vaishnodevi / Amarnath routes), involves trekking at high altitudes upto 19,500 feet, under inhospitable conditions including extreme cold and rugged terrain and may prove hazardous for those who are not physically or medically fit. The Indian Mountaineering Foundation has recognised the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra as a trekking expedition. There is a considerable element of risk to life and property.
7. Please note that Government shall not be responsible in any manner for any loss of life or injury to the person, or any loss or damage to the property of the Yatris due to any natural calamity or due to any other reason. Pilgrims undertake the Yatra at their own volition, cost, risk and consequences. KMVN also provides insurance against accident during the Yatra for each Yatri through United India Insurance Company Ltd. for an amount of Rs. Five lakhs. Government shall not have any obligation to bring the mortal remains across the border for cremation in the Indian side, in case of death on the Chinese side. All yatris are, therefore, required to sign a Consent Form for cremation of mortal remains, on the Chinese side in case of death.
8. Applicants should be physically healthy, medically fit and should not suffer from conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, epilepsy, etc. All applicants should have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27 or less to be eligible for the yatra. All selected applicants are required to undergo a comprehensive medical examination conducted by ITBP in New Delhi. Applicants found medically unfit will not be allowed to proceed on the Yatra, and will forfeit the non-refundable deposit paid to KMVN and the amount paid for medical examination. Please note that no other medical certificates or test reports will be accepted. A list of tests included in the medical examination is given at Annex-A of this circular for reference.
9. A second medical test to ascertain reactions to altitude trekking will be done by ITBP at Gunji, after 6 days of the Yatra, at a height of 3500 metres. Those Yatris who are found medically unfit here will not be permitted to continue the Yatra. The finding and the recommendations of the ITBP medical personnel both in Delhi and Gunji will be final and binding. In the eventuality of a Yatri being disqualified on medical grounds at Gunji, it will not be possible to refund the charges levied by (KMVN).
10. Complete applications in the prescribed format given below should be sent to Under Secretary(EA) Room No. 255-A, South Block, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi-110011 latest by Monday, March 17, 2008. For acknowledgement of receipt, please attach a self-addressed post card with the application.
11. The selection of Yatris will be done by Ministry of External Affairs through a computer-generated random gender-balanced selection process. Selected persons will be informed telegraphically about their inclusion in a particular batch 3-4 weeks before their scheduled departure. Spouses will be automatically selected (provided this fact is clearly indicated in the relevant column of the application form) subject to clearing the medical test. Selected applicants will be required to confirm their participation in a particular batch by sending a non-refundable demand draft of Rs. 5,000/- in favour of KMVN to Ministry of External Affairs by a specific deadline.
12. The following conditions may please be noted carefully;
„« It is the individual's responsibility to ensure that applications contain accurate information and that they are complete in every detail including date of birth.
„« Incomplete applications will be rejected.
„« If it is found that wrong information has been given in the application form, this will be ground for disqualification, even after selection has been confirmed /Yatra has begun. If disqualified on this ground after selection, total deposit paid to KMVN will be forfeited.
„« After receiving the telegram announcing the preliminary selection, confirmation that the selected Yatri can travel, should be received in this Ministry before the stated deadline, otherwise it will be presumed that the selected Yatri cannot travel, and he or she will be replaced from the stand-by list.
„« Failure to pass the medical examination at Delhi and or Gunji will be grounds for disqualification. Medical certificates issued by any source other than the ITBP doctors at Delhi and Gunji will not be accepted.
„« If a Yatri is disqualified on medical grounds at Delhi, he or she will forfeit the non-refundable deposit paid to KMVN. If a Yatri is disqualified on medical grounds at Gunji he/she will forfeit the total amount paid as Yatra fees to KMVN.
„« The Yatra groups will leave on the scheduled dates even if replacement called from the standby lists to fill any vacancy that may arise, is unable to join the group in time.
13.Details on the Yatra may also be seen at www.kmvn.org
ANNEX-A
Tests included in ITBP conducted medical examination are as follows:
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