Pithoragarh: Inclement weather conditions accompanied by poor visibility has left around 58 members of the eighth batch of Kailash Mansarovar yatra stranded for over eight days as they could not be airlifted to Gunji base camp.According to the schedule, the batch was supposed to have crossed Lipulekh Pass into Chinese territory by Wednesday. However, with rain playing spoilsport, the pilgrims would now have to request Chinese authorities to reschedule the dates. T S Martolia, general manager (tourism) of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) Ltd, the nodal agency for the Yatra in Pithoragarh, said, “Bad weather in the upper reaches of Himalayas is obstructing flights. As the pilgrims have been delayed, officials of the external affairs ministry are co-ordinating with their Chinese counterparts to reschedule the dates. We did the same for the seventh batch too. Now, even the ninth batch has been delayed and they have been lodged in the KMVN guest house in Almora.”Meanwhile, pilgrims claim that their plans have been disrupted due to the bad weather . Arun Miglani from Delhi said, “We are helpless. The helicopter will be able to take off only when the weather is clear. We hope that the batch will be able to complete the pilgrimage with the blessings of Lord Sankar.” “I had made railway reservations according to the schedule. However, I had to cancel it due to the delay,” said Bhagyasri Lonkar from Maharashtra.The pilgrimage on foot has been disrupted this year due to road construction works between Lakhanpur and Najang. Hence, the authorities had offered to airlift pilgrims from Pithoragarh to Gunji.

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