Nepal bans pics, videos & filming 'of others' on Mt Everest

KATHMANDU: Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has put a ban on taking and circulating pictures, videos and filming of other climbers or members of expedition teams on Mt Everest other than of oneself starting this season.

Issuing a notice on Wednesday, the Department of Tourism put the ban, saying that each climber can take, share and make images and videos of their group or of oneself but they will face action if they take, make and share photos of other climbers without the department's consent.

In the wake of a picture that went viral on May 2019 about the "traffic jam" on Mt Everest taken by one record holder climber, Nirmal Purja, Nepali officials have been facing other similar kinds of criticism by the international media over threat to the Himalayan eco-system.

The mountaineering community and some international media have criticized the hollow management of the Nepal government in managing the expedition on Mt Everest after the photo, "traffic jam in Everest" went viral.

Later, several other climbers took pictures of other climbers, filming at the top of Mt Everest and circulated them on the Internet.

Officials said some other attempts were made to defame Mt Everest's tourism management by circulating the pictures like piling of garbage at Everest base camp, an avalanche in Everest during the earthquake in 2015.

"Such activities have given negative publicity about the Everest so we decided to put a ban on taking pictures, movie and filming in the Everest by others," Mira Acharya, an official at Nepal's Tourism Department told the Nepali media, "to stop these kinds of negative publicity, we have come up with the new guideline that includes other mountains in the country as well". (IANS)

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