The government is cracking down on litterers at the roof of the world.
From April, climbers scaling Mt Everest must bring back eight kilogram of garbage in order to clean up the world’s highest peak or they will be penalised.
As the roof of the world has been littered with garbage, the government has made it mandatory for the climbers – while ascending beyond Everest base camp – to bring back the garbage, said Tourism Ministry official Madhusudan Burlakoti.
Each member of an expedition must bring back at least eight kg of garbage, apart from their own trash,” he said, adding that the authorities would take legal action against climbers, who failed to comply with the new rule. “The expeditions back will have to submit their trash to an office that will be set up next month at base camp.”
Currently too, the expeditions deposit $4,000 that is refunded after they show the authorities they have brought back everything they took to the mountains, it has not been implemented also due to government officials lack of seriousness towards the issue.
Burlakoti claimed that the office will take legal action and penalise the expeditions this time. “If they do not return and deposit the eight kg of rubbish at base camp then they will forfeit their $4,000 (£2,400) deposit.”
The office – to be set up – will have security officials, provide medical aid and also help resolve conflict, that has become serious issue since last year’s brawl.
Past expeditions since decades have left their rubbish like discarded oxygen and cooking gas cylinders, ropes, tents, glasses, beer cans, plastic human waste and even climbers’ bodies making the environmentalists worry. The garbage takes long years to decompose in the extreme cold of the Himalayas.
Last month the government has slashed fees for climbers to attract more climbers but with new rule the government has signaled that the increased traffic should not increase more trash at the roof of the world.
Environmentalists have recently been pressurising the government to focus on the waste problem.
Around 4,000 people have scaled Mt Everest since it was first summitted in 1953 by New Zealandar Edmund Hillary and a Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

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