Dharamshala, September 4, 2015: The Yatra for a holy dip in Manihahesh Lake shall begin on September 5. Every year an estimated half a million devotees undertake the arduous journey to take a dip in the oval shaped, glacial-fed Manimahesh lake, located at a height of 13,390 ft feet in the Bharmour valley. The pilgrimage begins on the eve of the Janmashtami festival. This year devotees can avoid the last leg of 13Kms of tough hill (on foot )track by availing the Helicopter services. Giving the details of the Heli lifts SDM Bharmour ,Satish Choudhary said,” the one way fare is fixed to rs 2847 while the both way journey will cost rs 2694 per person . Two helicopters one of UT Air and the other of Deccan air are there to provide the facility from Bharmour to Gauri Kund (1km away of the lake site).” He said that the service shall be available subject to weather permissions. Ms M Sudha Devi DC Chamba and the SDM Bharmour have a look on the arrangements by air on Friday.
Manimahesh Lake in Himachal (also known as Dal Lake, Manimahesh), has the religious significance next to that of the Lake Manasarovar in Tibet. It is a high altitude lake (elevation 4,080 metres (13,390 ft)) situated close to the Manimahesh Kailash Peak in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas, in the Bharmour subdivision of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.
It is known as the ‘Manimahesh Yatra’. The Government of Himachal Pradesh has declared it as a state-level pilgrimage.Manimahesh is approached from three routes. Pilgrims from Lahaul and Spiti pass through Kugti pass. Pilgrims from Kangra and Mandi take the Karwarsi pass or Jalsu pass via Tyari village, near Holi in Bharmour. But the easiest and popular route is from Chamba via Bharmour. The most popular is the Bhanrlour–Hadsar-Manimahesh route which involves a 13 kilometres track from Hadsar village to the Manimahesh Lake. The highest altitude touched in this route is 4,115 metres (13,501 ft) and it takes two days with an overnight stay at Dhancho.
Pilgrims undertake the holy trek barefoot and cover a distance of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the nearest road point of Hadsar to the Manimahesh Lake. Lord Shiva is the presiding deity of the yatra.
However, before taking a final dip in the Mani Mahesh Lake, women devotees take a dip at the Gauri Khund, which is situated about a mile short of the lake while men take bath at Shiv Karotri a part of the main lake. The Himachal government has made arrangements of helicopter service also upto Gaurikund this year ,which will also start its operation from 5 th of September.
As the area has a close boarder with J&K , Himachal Pradesh Police in collaboration with the Indian Army is keeping a close look in the areas bordering Jammu and Kashmir. The hill state shares a 214-km border with Doda, Kishtwar and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir and a vast area along the state border is dotted by dense forests.Though the region is considered safe, threat perception always remains there, particularly in the area from where visitors from Bhaderwah enter Himachal Pradesh. “We have launched a combing operation in the forests on the border with Jammu and Kashmir. It will continue till the annual Manimahesh yatra concludes on September 20,” said Sanjay Kumar, director general of police (DGP), Himachal Pradesh.
“We will not scale down the security given the spurt in militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir and the recent attack in Dainanagar,” he added.
Recently, the Himachal Pradesh Police, during an interstate police coordination meeting, had asked their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir to tighten security in the areas bordering Chamba.
Date:
Friday, September 4, 2015