NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today flagged off the first batch of pilgrims bound for the annual Kailash Mansarovar yatra for this year.Swaraj told the pilgrims to take care to not "sully" the route leading up to Kailash Mansarovar during the holy journey. "The reverence we have for Lord Shiva, we should have similar respect for his abode. Therefore, please do not sully the road that will lead you to Lord Shiva," she told the pilgrims at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan here.A total of 1,430 devotees will undertake the pilgrimage in 25 batches this year. "But it is a gradual process and we are doing a bit more every year," she said.Swaraj, who underwent a kidney transplant in December last year, asked the pilgrims to seek blessings on her behalf as well. Since you all are going to seek blessings of Lord Shiva, I'd request you to seek some blessings for me too as I myself haven't gone to Kailash Mansarovar, ever, and am not sure if I ever will," she said.

Source: Economic Times June 11, 2017 09:33 UTC