Bringing excreta back to base camp compulsory for Mount Everest climbers
আজকাল | ১৩ মার্চ ২০২৪
In order to promote environmental cleanliness of Mount Everest, the Nepal government on Thursday announced that the climbers will now have to manage their own excreta by themselves and bring it back to the base camp for safe disposal. The Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, which covers most of the Everest region has set the new guidelines as part of wider measures being implemented to tackle issues of persistent problem of waste accumulation up in the world’s highest mountain peak. “Our mountains have begun to stink. We are getting complaints that human stools are visible on rocks and some climbers are falling sick. This is not acceptable and erodes our image, said Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Pasang Lhamu rural municipality.“Climbers attempting Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, and nearby Mount Lhotse will be ordered to buy so-called poo bags at base camp, which will be “checked upon their return,” Sherpa added.Non-government organisation Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) is currently in efforts to procure about 8,000 excreta bags from the US for an estimated 400 foreign climbers and 800 support staff for the upcoming Everest expedition beginning from March.Such bags contain powders and chemicals that solidify human excreta and make it odourless. Climbers will be given two bags prior to their expedition, each of which they can use five to six times.