Uttarakhand floods: Govt cancels Kailash Manasarovar Yatra

The government on Thursday cancelled the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in view of disruption of roads, bridges and tracks along the route due to the floods that had hit Uttarakhand.

"In the interest of safety and security of the yatris it has been decided to further cancel all remaining batches 15-18 of the Yatra-2013," the ministry of external affairs said in statement.

After further reviewing the situation in Uttarakhand, stemming from torrential rains and flooding, the government had on July 8 cancelled Batch No 11-14 of this year's yatra. The government had also cancelled the visit of Batches 2-10.

A total of 18 batches of pilgrims were scheduled to have a glimpse of holy mountKailash, the abode of Lord Shiva, and take a bath in the sacred Manasarovar Lake.