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KATMANDU, NEPAL, July 4, 2003: H.H. Swami Chidananda Saraswati, affectionately known as Muniji, head of the Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh, will lead nearly 200 pilgrims from 13 countries to Lake Mansarovar, near Mount Kailash in Tibet, to inaugurate a rest house for tourists and pilgrims. The project, funded by the Rishikesh-based India Heritage Research Foundation (IHRF), includes running a clinic and cleaning up the area near the lake.



The pilgrims will depart Katmandu for Lhasa on Saturday. This will be the climax to an effort that can be traced back to 1998 when Muniji first went on pilgrimage to Kailash. Moved by the desperateness of the situation of the people living there, Muniji set up a one-man bureau in Katmandu that spent two years negotiating with Beijing to get permission for the project. An agreement was signed between Swami, sponsor IHRF, Chinese and Tibetan senior officials in Katmandu on December 15, 2000. It states that “for future projects in the region, including schools, hospitals, rest houses, sanitation programs, the government of Tibet/China will give first priority to IHRF to sponsor the project.” It required great diplomatic skill to arrange this agreement with the Chinese government.

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