KATHMANDU, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Teams led by Nepal Army will be collecting waste on four mountains including Mt. Qomolangma, the tallest peak in the world.
General Prabhu Ram Sharma, chief of the Army Staff, announced the commencement of the Clean Mountain Campaign and handed over a banner that reads "An Endeavour to Save the Himalayas."
Three teams are mobilized for the cleaning campaign with a view to collecting 35 tons of waste left by climbers on Mt. Qomolangma (8,848.86m), Mt. Lhotse (8,516m), Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586m) and Mt. Manaslu (8,163m), and they will set off in two batches on Wednesday and April 16.
"A total of 92 people, including Nepal Army personnel, doctors and the Sherpa guides, are mobilized for the campaign," Himansu Khadka, a Nepal Army brigadier general, said at a press meet.
The waste collected will be segregated as biodegradable and non-biodegradable, and they will be buried and recycled respectively.
The teams have accepted acclimatization training from February 28 to March 29, and the cleaning campaign is scheduled to end in late May.
The Nepal Army has been leading the clean campaign since 2019 amid waste piling up on the tall mountains that attract climbers from around the world.
The teams collected 10 tons of waste in 2019, and the amount went up to 27.6 tons in 2021. The campaign was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
April to May is the main season to summit the Himalayan mountains on Nepal's side, in particular Mt. Qomolangma which straddles Nepal and China.
