India on Saturday said the 80-km road in Uttarakhand, which connects close to the Line of Actual Control and opens a new route for Kailash...
India on Saturday said the 80-km road in Uttarakhand, which connects close to the Line of Actual Control and opens a new route for Kailash Mansarovar yatra via Lipulekh pass, is “completely within the territory” of the country. This came after Nepal strongly objected to the new link road that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated on Friday.
Nepal’s foreign ministry said India’s decision to build the road through the territory at the Lipulekh pass, which Kathmandu claims to be part of its territory, is a breach of an agreement between the two countries, PTI reported.
The link road is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet by significantly reducing the travel time. Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both the countries claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory – India as part of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Darchula district.
“The government of Nepal has learnt with regret about the ‘inauguration’ yesterday by India of ‘Link Road’ connecting to Lipulekh, which passes through Nepali territory,” a statement issued on Saturday said. “This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries, including...
