NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Indian pilgrims are currently stranded on the on the Nepal-Tibet border after Chinese authorities refused to grant them entry into the country to visit Mount Kailash, a holy site for Buddhists and Hindus. According to reports, at least 700 Indians en route to Tibet have been forced to stop in the Tatopani area some 125 kilometers east of the Nepali capital Kathmandu, Nepali officials confirmed to Bikyamasr.com on Friday. “We have got the information that hundreds of Indian tourists coming to Nepal on their way to Mansarovar have been stopped at the Tibetan border by the Chinese authorities,” Sudhir Shah, chief of Immigration Department said. According to Shah there were some 700-800 Indian visitors stranded at Tatopani border point and most of them have now started to return to Kathmandu. The Indian pilgrims have visa, but the Chinese authorities stopped them an the border entry point saying that they don't have route permit for their vehicles. Most of the travel agencies operating from India don't know about the route permit required at the border entry point, Shah said. On the Nepali side there was no problem for the Indian pilgrims to visit Mansarovar, he added. Indian Embassy in Nepal officials said that they were looking into the issue. Travel, trade people and hoteliers dealing with the Indian tourists here said that the Chinese have actually restricted the entry of tourists recently as a precautionary measure against the possible infiltration by pro-Dalai Lama Tibetan activists. Annually, many Indians, mostly elderly people, come for the Mansarovar pilgrimage tour via Kathmandu which takes about 2-3 weeks and each individual has to pay around Rs 70,000 for the package including air tickets.
