Nepal organizing Mt Everest cleanup campaign to remove 10 tonnes of waste

Kathmandu: As mountaineering season begins, Nepal is organizing Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) Cleanup Campaign-2019 to remove over 10 tonnes of garbage left behind by past climbers, officials and stakeholders said. Amid concern growing about the garbage problem in the world’s tallest mountain, the Nepali government, in partnership with stakeholders in the mountaineering sector, is organizing the campaign. It is the first time that the Nepali government has got involved in the cleanup drive, according to Nepal’s Department of Tourism, which is leading the campaign. “During the cleanup campaign, garbage lying on Mt. Everest from the base camp (5,400 meters) to camp four (around 8,300 meters) will be removed,” Kul Bahadur Gurung, general secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association, a body representing the stakeholders of the mountaineering sector, told Xinhua on Thursday. According to Gurung, a 12-member team of people who will be removing the wastage from Mt. Everest, left for the base camp on Thursday from the country’s capital Kathmandu. As per the plan, they will start cleanup campaign after April 25 and it will last till June 5, the day when the World Environment Day is marked.

As per the plan, those involved in removing garbage, will bring the collected garbage to the base camp where disposable and non-disposable items will be separated. Then, the wastage will be brought down further, and disposable items will be managed while the non-disposable items will be brought to Kathmandu for proper management. The stakeholders said even Mt. Everest expedition teams will also be requested to help removing wastage during their journey back to the base camp. “Some expedition teams have already promised to do so,” said Gurung. As part of the cleanup campaign, wastage lying on the Everest trekking trail from Lukla to the base camp will also be removed, according to Gurung, who said that it will be one of the largest cleanup campaigns. Nepali government officials said the government was very much concerned about the environment of the world’s tallest peak at a time when the country is organizing the Visit Nepal Year 2020, targeting to attract 2 million foreign tourists. Nepal has to give good message about the environment of Mt. Qomolangma to attract foreign tourists and it is also the duty of the government to save Mt. Everest which is the pride of the country, Mira Acharya, director at the Tourism Department told Xinhua on Thursday.