KATHMANDU, Oct 10: The government has collected Rs 65.9 million in royalty so far with the opening of mountain climbing for the autumn season of this year. The government collected the revenue from a total of 31 mountain climbing permits.
The highest number of permits has been taken for climbing Mountain Manaslu this season. According to the statistics of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 404 people including 307 men and 97 women in 38 teams have taken permission to climb Mt Manaslu.
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With this, the government has collected a royalty of Rs 46.2 million. The 8,163 meter high mountain Manaslu has been the source to collect the highest revenue this season. After Manaslu, the government has collected Rs 4.3 million in royalty from Himalung mountain climbing permit.
Similarly, the government has collected Rs 4.3 million in royalty from Mt Dhaulagiri. So far, four teams have taken permission to climb the 8,167 meters high Dhaulagiri. After Dhaulagiri, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, has so far collected a royalty of Rs 3.5 million. Only one team has obtained the climbing permit for the world’s highest mountain and it consists of five climbers. There are four men and one woman in the team.
Bidur Timalsina, information officer for NTB, said that due to heavy snowfall, the number of climbers climbing Mt Everest is fewer while the number of people planning to climb Manaslu is the highest in autumn. “This is because the mountains are clean, open and stable in October and November, and a considerable number of people climb the mountains,” he said. “However, this year, due to the environmental impact, the avalanches have increased, and the climbers have suffered a lot.”
