Nepali Army has removed the remains of five climbers and 11,000 kgs of waste from the high-altitude Everest region as part of their almost two-month-long ‘Mountain Cleaning Campaign 2024,’ the fourth such expedition since its launch in 2019.
The Army team found four dead bodies and one human skeleton of the climbers from its arduous cleaning expedition that covered Mt Everest, the highest mountain at 8848.86 metres, Mt Lhotse, and Mt Nuptse areas near the Everest Base Camp.
The aim of the ‘Mountain Cleaning Campaign’ is to keep a check on human-made pollution in the mighty Himalayas, especially in the fragile and vulnerable high-altitude region, in the era of changing climate, the army had said while announcing the 2024 campaign on April 7.
That day, the start of the Spring Climbing Season for Everest, the Army had announced to bring back 10 tonnes and five bodies lying at Mt Everest by its 12-member team led by Maj Aditya Karki. The team was to be assisted by an 18-member Sherpa team. The expedition was flagged off on April 11.
Chief of the Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma, during an event to celebrate the successful closing of the 55-day campaign here on Wednesday, the World Environment Day, said: “Despite the adverse weather and conditions, around 11,000 kgs of garbage, four human corpses, and one skeleton were collected during this campaign.” On the occasion, the Army chief also honoured members of the mountain cleaning campaign, including supporting Sherpa guides, for their valuable contribution to collecting the garbage and human remains.
The biodegradable waste was brought to Namche Bazaar below the Everest Base Camp and handed to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) for proper treatment. The non-biodegradable waste and bodies/skeleton was brought to Kathmandu.
The Nepal Army collaborated with the Ministry of Forest and Environment, the Tourism Department and the Nepal Mountaineers Association for the Everest region’s cleaning campaign.
The cleaning team also successfully climbed Mount Everest, MyRepublica portal reported, adding that since the campaign was launched in 2019, as many as 12 dead bodies and 180 metric tonnes of garbage have been collected from these mountain areas, including the Mt Everest peak.