Nepal puts ban on taking pictures of other climbers in Sagarmatha without consent

KATHMANDU : Nepal has placed a ban on taking pictures of other climbers and circulating them on the internet without consent starting this season.

According to the Department of Tourism (DoT), the expedition team will not be allowed to take photos, record videos or film anybody other than those belonging to their own expedition team members. “Capturing photographs and filming videos of people from other expedition teams and publishing of those materials will not be allowed,” read the notice issued by the DoT on Wednesday.

The government has forbidden the activity in the wake of a picture that went viral in 2019. A record holding climber, Nirmal Purja had shared the picture showing a long queue of people trying to summit the Sagarmatha. The picture was circulated widely in the internet drawing criticisms against Nepali authorities for not ensuring proper arrangement for climbing the world’s highest peak. The picture showed the ‘traffic jam’ on the Sagarmatha.

Republica