Mount Everest Cleanup Operation Yields Four Bodies and Tonnes of Debris

In a monumental effort to preserve the sanctity of Mount Everest and its neighboring peaks, the Nepalese Army has successfully retrieved four bodies and a skeleton, alongside a staggering 11 tonnes of rubbish, during a recent cleaning operation.

Since April, Nepalese soldiers have been diligently combing through the iconic peaks of Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse, striving to rid these majestic landscapes of accumulated waste and human remains.

Standing tall at 8,849 meters, Mount Everest holds the esteemed title of the world’s highest mountain, yet sadly, it has also become infamous for bearing the burden of being the planet’s highest rubbish dump.

Among the debris littering the slopes are broken tents, discarded clothing, food packaging, cookers, empty water bottles, beer cans, and oxygen cylinders, remnants left behind by the countless adventurers who have dared to conquer its formidable heights.

Tragically, along with the discarded waste, lies the somber reminder of human mortality, with dozens of corpses scattered across the terrain, some serving as morbid trail markers for passing climbers.

Recovering these fallen climbers presents a formidable challenge. The harsh conditions and extreme altitude make retrieval efforts perilous and prohibitively expensive, with estimates ranging between $32,000 to $64,500 per mission, as revealed by US mountaineer and blogger Alan Arnette.

Typically, a specialized team comprising six to ten experienced Sherpas equipped with oxygen cylinders is mobilized for the arduous task. In some instances, helicopters are employed to airlift the bodies from the mountain, a costly endeavor that underscores the immense logistical and financial burden associated with such operations.

As the cleanup initiative continues, the Nepalese Army remains steadfast in its commitment to preserving the pristine beauty of Mount Everest while honoring the memories of those who have perished on its unforgiving slopes.

World Bank Provides Aid for cleaning of Ganga River

World Bank has sanctioned a loan of US $ 1 billion for funding Institutional Development and for construction of priority infrastructure projects for municipal waste water treatment and solid waste treatment on the main stem of Ganga in the five Ganga basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

Government of India has withdrawn a cumulative amount of US $ 91.26 million (Rs. 550.48 crore) under this loan till date.

Cleaning of river is a continuous process. Namami Gange Programme has been launched as a holistic approach covering all existing ongoing projects and new initiative. Under Namami Gange project total number of 173 projects for various activities such as sewage infrastructure, river front development, ghat and crematoria, ghat cleaning, river surface cleaning, afforestation and biodiversity conservation and rural sanitation etc. have been sanctioned. Out of 173 projects 41 numbers of projects have been completed so far.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.