‘No idea what awaits us’: Mansarovar pilgrims stuck in Tibet amid Nepal crisis

The fierce protests against corruption and nepotism which spiralled into arson and violence Tuesday has now left him, and hundreds of other Indian pilgrims, stranded in Darchen — a small town in Tibet, considered an important gateway to Mount Kailash.

From the town located at an altitude of 6,000 metres, Sidhan told The Indian Express: “Darchen is a town with limited accommodation. People coming back from parikrama (the ritual walk around Mount Kailash) generally experience sickness and need to recover in hotel rooms equipped with oxygen support. Since those like us who have already completed the parikrama and are unable to return and make space for others, we are now being moved by the local authorities to other smaller towns on the China-Nepal border. We don’t know what awaits us.”

Sidhan and his group hired a private operator in India and began their journey from Lucknow. Three days ago, they landed in Darchen, and when they completed the sacred parikrama Tuesday, Nepal was already on the boil, resulting in the borders being closed.

An estimated 2,000 pilgrims, mostly Indians, now stare at uncertainty over their return.

Fighting thin oxygen levels, scarce medical facilities and limited accommodation, healthcare entrepreneur Abhilash Sathish from Thrissur, who had also undertaken the journey through a private operator, says that at one time Darchen can accommodate not more than 500 people.

“If there is a continuous movement of people, it works well. But if people get stuck in Darchen beyond their designated time, things will get worse,” says Sathish, who was feeling dizzy and had to resort to oxygen support upon arriving in Darchen. He fears that if the place is overcrowded, supply of oxygen cylinders might be hit.

On being asked about facilitating the return of the pilgrims stranded, sources told The Indian Express that the Indian mission in Beijing is in touch with the local authorities and looking at various options.

“Everyone is talking about hundreds of Indian citizens being stuck in Nepal, and closure of airports, but there are more than 2,000 Indian citizens stuck in worse circumstances in Darchen, who need to be repatriated since many of them are elderly, or have mountain sickness that requires medical attention,” Sidhan said.

He pointed out that from Darchen, the closest low-altitude locations are in Nepal, which are closed for now.

As per an agreement reached with China, India had announced the resumption of the yatra from this year, and had taken 750 pilgrims through government agencies through two designated routes — via Sikkim and Uttarakhand.

However, thousands like Sidhan, have signed up with private tour operators. As per that route, they travel to Nepalgunj in Nepal, from where they take small-haul flights to Nepal’s Hilsa. In helicopters, they reach Darchen — the starting point of the parikrama. The return is via the same route and pilgrims cannot avoid travel through Nepal.

According to Sidhan, the local guides and coordinators couldn’t provide them much information on alternative routes or accommodations.

“More and more people are returning from the parikrama every hour, and the resources are getting overstretched,” Sidhan said, adding that on Tuesday officials in New Delhi called them, but since then they haven’t heard from them and don’t know how to reach out. “We are now looking for support from the Ministry of External Affairs to facilitate our return,” he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, as the situation in Nepal-China border eased relatively, some of them were taken to Hilsa in small batches after a four-hour bus ride from Darchen. Sathish, who was in Hilsa on Wednesday evening, said it will be “another challenge if they cannot transit back to India a day later through the India-Nepal border”.

“Hilsa is also a small town. There are a lot of pilgrims already waiting here on their way to Kailash, and if both incoming and outgoing pilgrims gather here, in such extreme circumstances, it could be another matter of concern,” he said.

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