Dehradun/Pithoragarh: Protests today erupted in Uttarakhand's Kumaon region over a pact signed between India and China seeking an alternative route to Mansarovar through Nathula in Sikkim, even as Chief Minister Harish Rawat opposed it saying the move would hurt religious sentiments of the people.

Locals engaged in businesses related to the annual pilgrimage, which goes through the traditional route of Dharchula and Siyalekh in the state, burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protest against the move and alleged that it was a conspiracy to finish tourism trade in the Kumaon belt.