76-yr-old Gujarat pilgrim dies on Adi Kailash route

Pithoragarh: A 76-yr-old pilgrim from Rajkot in Gujarat died of a cardiac ailment on Friday while returning from the Adi Kailash pilgrimage, marking the second such death on the route this year.

Mansukh Giri was part of an 18-member group that had visited Adi Kailash and Om Parvat and was returning to Dharchula. He complained of chest pain at Nabi village in Byas Valley and was rushed to the nearest health facility in Dharchula, where doctors declared him dead.

Pithoragarh district disaster management officer Bhupendra Singh Mahar said the body was handed over to the family after postmortem. Referring to an earlier incident, he said, “On May 6, PM Sudhir Nayar from Nagpur, Maharashtra, died while returning to Dharchula after visiting Adi Kailash. He too complained of chest pain and died on reaching the hospital.”

Dr Lal Singh Bora, a Dehradun-based physician, said, “Altitude-related sickness is common in the Adi Kailash region, which is situated at an elevation of around 17,000 feet. Oxygen concentration is low there, and pilgrims should properly acclimatise to local conditions before undertaking the journey.”

Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said, “The Adi Kailash Yatra began on May 1, and around 27,000 pilgrims have visited the site till May 30.”