By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, June 7: Mountain Cleaning Campaign-2021, a government initiative, led by the Nepali Army (NA) has formally been concluded for this season.
Major General Gokul Bhandari announced the conclusion of the campaign launched to clean six mountains at a function held at the Army Headquarters premises on Saturday night, coinciding the World Environment Day.
With the slogan of ‘Save the Himalayas for Future’, the Campaign had begun on April 13, 2021 when Chief of the Army Staff General Purna Chandra Thapa handed over banners to the team leaders.
According to the Directorate of Public Relations and Information of the Army Headquarters, the primary aim of the campaign was to generate awareness about the impact of climate change and help minimise its effects on the Himalayas.
Nepali Army had formed six teams to collect the garbage from six mountains-- Sagarmatha, Lhotse, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Pumori and Ama Dablam.
A total of 27 tonnes and 671 kgs of trashes accumulated on the mountains were collected during the campaign. Of them, 2,505 kg waste was bio degradable and 25,166 non-bio degradable. The collected garbage was handed over to the local bodies/ committees and recycling agencies.
Also, four bodies were recovered, two around Dhaulagiri Base Camp and two at Camp 4 (8,000m) of Sagarmatha. All the bodies were handed over to the concerned authorities for their lawful management.
Speaking at the concluding ceremony, Brigadier General Himanshu Khadka highly appreciated and congratulated the participants who had directly or indirectly involved in the campaign despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and two cyclones (Tauktae and Yaas).
He also expressed his gratitude to the partners of the campaign for their unwavering support.
The campaign leaders also handed back the banner to Chief Guest Major General Bhandari as a symbol of the completion of the campaign.
Dhananjaya Poudel, Chief of Planning and Monitoring Division of Ministry of Forestry and Environment, congratulated all those involved in the campaign for the successful completion of the challenging task.
Chief guest of the programme Major General Bhandari presented certificate of appreciation to the supporting partners, Nepal Mountaineering Association, Himalayan Rescue Association, Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, Annapurna Conservation Area Project, Expedition Operators Associations, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever Nepal Ltd, ICIMOD, WWF Nepal, Polymet SA Pte Ltd., The Nepal Distilleries, Plast Nepal Foundation, Yeti Airlines, Himalayan Climate Initiative, Avni Centre for Sustainability, Avni Ventures and Service Provider Peak Promotion Company.
He also handed over two sacks of the garbage symbolically to recycling agency Avni Venture for Sustainability.
He also felicitated three Nepali Army personnel and two Sherpa associates for successfully climbing Ama Dablam during the cleaning process.
Bhandari said that the campaign was instrumental in spreading awareness about the adverse effects of pollution in the mountainous areas and on the global environment.