India okays scheme for govt staff to travel to Nepal

Fulfilling a commitment made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SAARC summit held in Kathmandu in November, the Indian government has approved a proposal to allow more than two million government employees to travel to Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka on Leave Travel Concession scheme.

The development comes as a major boost for Nepal which was recently devastated by three major earthquakes and more than 300 aftershocks. Consequent to the natural disaster tourist arrivals in the Himalayan nation plummeted to almost zero levels causing much panic in the tourism sector which is a major contributor to the country’s GDP. Most of the hotels in Nepal have since reported largescale cancellations of bookings made by tourists, especially the pilgrimage tourists from India.

The Indian government’s decision in effect will encourage middle class Indians to travel to Nepal either on pilgrimages to Hindu and Buddhism sites or for recreational and adventure purposes. “The government decided to fast track the proposal following the earthquake in Nepal so as to boost tourism in that country which is still reeling under the impact of the earthquake,” sources at the civil aviation ministry told The Himalayan Times here.

Under the provisions of the LTC, all the government employees can travel to any destination of their choice after due process and the cost of travel would be borne by the government. Hitherto the LTC facility was only available for travel within India. The move was aimed at boosting tourism within SAARC countries. However, Indian government employees cannot use the LTC to travel to Pakistan and Bangladesh, as these two neighbouring countries have been left out for now owing to security issues.
The ministry of civil aviation endorsed the proposal so that the LTC can be availed for the time being the on national carrier Air India while flying to these countries. The private airlines flying into Nepal are likely to lobby for a chunk of the pie in this newly created segment by arguing that Air India does not have the bandwidth to meet the likely surge in traffic to Nepal.

There are around two million government employees. With the extension of the LTC scheme there is bound to be greater movement of Indians to the four countries. Considering the close people to people ties between India and Nepal, they are likely to prefer to travel to Nepal using the facility.

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Source: thehimalayantimes

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TICC established

Department of Tourism, under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has started an initiative to gather information about tourists who have gone missing, are dead or injured in the devastating earthquake and the avalanche in the Himalayan region due to the quake. ntb

A meeting held today at the department decided to set up a Tourist Information Coordination Centre (TICC), where people from anywhere in the country can provide information on tourists who are missing, dead or injured at the toll free number ‘1144’. People can inform Tourist Police through that toll free number.

For better coordination, Rukesh Tandukar, in-charge of Tourist Police Unit and Sarad Pradhan (contact number 9851077385) of Nepal Tourism Board will be available at all times to gather information.

The centre will work directly under Director General of the department, Tulasi Prasad Gautam. It will gather information in coordination with Tourist Police, Department of Immigration, Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Nepal Mountaineering Association, Nepal Association of Tour and Trekking Agents, and Hotel Association Nepal. TICC will promptly convey the message to the rescue and relief team of the government.

This initiative is expected to address queries of foreign missions in Nepal whose citizens were visiting the country at the time of the devastating earthquake. Thousands of tourists are still unaccounted for, as per various foreign missions.

The European Union (EU) said at least 1,000 EU citizens so far are unaccounted for after the quake. Talking to The Himalayan Times, EU Ambassador to Nepal, Rensje Teerink said they did not know where their citizens are in the country. “Many could have left the country unharmed, however, it hasn’t been brought to our notice.”

source:the himalayan times

Indian kid successfully climbs Kalapatthar

Indian kid successfully climbs Kalapatthar

A five year and 11 month old Indian boy claimed to have set a new world record by successfully climbing Kalapatthar peak, some 200 metre above the base camp of Mount Everest in Nepal.

Harshit Saumitra, the son a famous mountaineer from India, reached 5,554 m high Kalapatthar on October 17.Harshit’s climbing team included his father Rajeev Saumitra and two Sherpa guides.

Harshit had embarked towards the Everest base camp on October 7, when he landed at Lukla Airport by a helicopter.It took the boy 10 days to reach the base camp, for which ordinary people take 7 days.

“I had taken special precaution for his safety and his health condition is perfectly sound,” said his father.Harshit was moving towards the base camp located in North-East Nepal at a time when dozens of people, mostly foreigners, lost their lives in the Himalayas, due to snow blizzard in North-West Nepal.

Everest-KalaPatthar

“We took two days’ rest at a tent on way to the base camp to protect from the blizzard,” Rajeev said.He has not shown any symptoms of headache or high altitude sickness during the climbing, despite his young age, he added.

“Jay Hind, India is the great,” Harshit said waving the Indian tri-colour after reaching Kalapatthar.The peak is higher than the highest peaks of three continents, Europe’s Mount Blanc (4,810 m), Antartica’s Vinson Massif (4,892 m) and Australia’s Punack Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m).

Harshit has set a world record by breaking earlier records, claimed his father Rajeev at a press conference in Kathmandu.The boy had broken the record set by seven-year-old Aryan Balaji, another Indian boy, who had reached the Everest base camp and Kalapatthar in May 2012.

Harshit’s father said that he will start the process of registering the name of Harshit for Limca Book of Records from tomorrow.”We will provide all the evidences including his birth certificate and the video clippings of the climbing,” he said.

“We are also considering to apply for Guinness World Records for our claim of setting a world record shortly,” he added.

Nepal blizzards: Trekkers ‘herded to deaths’, claims survivor

Nepal blizzards: Trekkers ‘herded to deaths’, claims survivor

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Sgt Paul Sherridan [right] and lifelong friend Steve Wilson pictured earlier on their trip

A British survivor of a Himalayan storm which killed at least 29 people has claimed trekkers were “herded to their deaths” by ill-equipped guides.

Paul Sherridan, 49, a police sergeant from Doncaster, was among 230 trekkers who escaped Wednesday’s blizzards and avalanches in Nepal’s Annapurna range.

He said a bad weather forecast meant they should have been prevented from going up the mountain.

“They were herded up that mountain to their death,” he told BBC Radio 4.

Most of the deaths happened when a blizzard hit a point on the Annapurna Circuit, a well-known trekking route in central Nepal.

The bad weather hit a resting place 4,500m (14,800ft) above sea level, not far below the circuit’s highest point, the Thorung La pass.

Rescuers are still searching the range looking for more survivors, who are believed to be stranded in lodges and huts. Hiking remains difficult because of waist-deep snow.

‘Disgusting folly’

The Nepalese government has announced a high-level committee with two senior ministers to monitor and co-ordinate rescue efforts, in what is expected to be the country’s worst mountaineering tragedy.

Mr Sherridan, of Harlington, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was half way through a month-long trip with his lifelong friend Steve Wilson when the storm struck.

He said: “My view is that this incident could have been prevented. I knew the weather forecast before I set off.

“Having spoken to my guide, who wasn’t there but obviously has been there, they say that the weight that the porters carry is so great that they leave their own personal safety equipment behind to lighten their load. That to me is an absolute disgusting folly.

“All they are doing is leading people to a certain death, and themselves.

“If someone had taken the responsibility just to stop people going up there, I’m sure the fatalities would have been a lot less.”

He said walkers were left stumbling through “an abyss of nothing” as dense snow left them unable to orient themselves.

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Rescue team members carried an avalanche victim before the body was airlifted from Thorung La pas

“Somebody shouted – and I believe it was one of the guides – ‘Move forwards. Move forwards,” said Mr Sherridan.

“But as we moved forwards, conditions worsened and we became involved in blacked-out conditions where the ground became the same colour as the sky and it was difficult to see which way was up and which way was down.

“As I descended this abyss of nothing, I realised that the people I was following didn’t know where they were. It was at that point that I realised I had gone from a place of safety into an absolute position of fear and sheer terror.”

He said it was only when he glimpsed a pole through the white-out that he was able to find a route to safety.

“We picked our way down for two hours through this maze of poles that sometimes we couldn’t see for minutes on end, but it seemed to bring some sort of calmness and order to affairs.

“It was around that time that I heard the rumble of an avalanche and I heard the large thunder and roar of snow falling and I just knew, due to the number of people, that there were going to be fatalities. It was horrific.”

Mr Sherridan’s daughter Hannah, 23, said her father and Mr Wilson had planned the trekking trip to celebrate turning 50 next year.

“They’d wanted to do this all their lives, it was a trip of a lifetime,” she said.

“Now I’m just looking forward so much to having him back.”

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Sgt Paul Sherridan, pictured with his wife Lesley, was celebrating his impending 50th birthday

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/

TAAN rescues 77 from Manang

TAAN rescues 77 from Manang

A rescue team of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) rescued 77 trekkers from different parts of Manang district on Thursday.

Of the trekkers rescued on Thursday, 17 were Israelis, 29 Nepalis (support staff), 5 Indonesians, 10 Germans, 5 Spanish, 4 Indians, 3 Canadians, 2 Russians, and 2 Polish.
TAAN had deployed two choppers – AS 350 B3 and MI 17 – for rescue works. TAAN executive members Coordinator of Mountaineering Department of TAAN Ang Pemba Sherpa,   and Pasang Tendi Sherpa were in the rescue team. Similarly, TAAN President Ramesh Prasad Dhamala was in Manang to oversee rescue works, while Coordinator of TAAN’s Rescue Department Keshav Pandey coordinated rescue works from Pokhara. Likewise, 1st Vice President Kami Rinji Sherpa, General Secretary Sagar Pandey and Treasurer Gopal Babu Shrestha were at TAAN Secretariat to coordinate rescue works, while executive member Vidya Hirachan was at Tribhuvan International Airport.
Meanwhile, rescue workers have recovered 10 bodies from Phu and Kangla area of Manang.

TAAN-Rescues

TAAN rescues 77 from Manang

TAAN had sent rescue team from land route in the Mustang side of Thorang La Pass. The team brought down five bodies – two Nepalis, two Israelis and one Polish. Similarly, one more body has been brought down to Jomsom. Their identity has yet to be ascertained.
With this the number of deceased in Mustang side has reached 10. Rescue teams had recovered four bodies on Wednesday.
“Rescue team of Nepal Army (NA) has told us that there are eight bodies near Doomcamp below Thorong Pass. We will bring them down tomorrow,” Hari Bhujel, second vice president of TAAN Pokhara Chapter, said from Mustang.
According to Mustang CDO Baburam Adhikari, 64 trekkers from different countries, including Nepali support staff, were rescued from Mustang on Wednesday.

Source: TAAN