MANANG: The local government has banned the collection of Yarsagumba on the ground of safety of people.

This is the peak season for picking Yarsagumba, which is a lucrative herb found in the high altitude of mountains in western Nepal.

The prohibition on picking Yarsagumba is one of the preventive measures taken by the local government to stem the outbreak of the pandemic.

School teachers, students and their guardians flock to highland for around two months to pick the unique plant, a combined form of caterpillar and fungus with medicinal value in this season.

As the nationwide lockdown has been enforced by the government since March 24 to contain the outbreak of novel coronavirus, human movement and vehicle traffic across the country have come to a grinding halt.

The government has been urging people to maintain social distancing to prevent the possible infection of the deadly virus.

District Administration Office, Manang said that since there is a high chance a large number of people from in and out of the district coming close during this time and could contract COVID-19 from one another, the measure was taken for the same until next notice.

A meeting of chairpersons of four wards in Manang district made the decision to this end, according to Chief District Officer in Manang, Pushparaj Poudel.

They have also decided not to open the pathway that would lead Yarsagumba pickers to make headway to the high-altitude meadows.

People from Lamjung, Gorkha, Rolpa, Rukum, Dolpa and Dhading, among other districts usually flock to highland during Yarsagumba picking season.

An individual could earn from Rs 50,000 to Rs 500,000 in a season from Yarsagumba picking.

This herb is found in Danfe Lek, and Namke Kharka in Naso Rural Municipality.