KATHMANDU: Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey reached the Everest Base Camp area today on an inspection visit aimed at assessing the condition of climbers and reviewing the peace and security situation during the tourist season.
The two ministers arrived at the Base Camp in Khumbu by helicopter early this morning. Their visit comes amid growing concerns about safety, tourism management, and helicopter flight regulation in the Everest region.
During the visit, Home Minister Lekhak said the government is committed to creating a conducive environment for helicopter operations in the Everest area, particularly for rescue missions, mountaineering support, and tourist convenience.
He highlighted that helicopters are crucial for evacuating physically weak or injured climbers and noted that the government’s focus will be on making such flights easier and better regulated.
“The government is now implementing a people-oriented policy to promote tourism in the Everest region. We are not banning helicopter rescues, but we will regulate unorganized and unnecessary flights,” Lekhak said.
His remarks come in the wake of repeated local demands to restrict helicopter operations in the region, except for rescue purposes. The rural municipality has cited misuse of helicopter flights and called for a ban on non-essential services, while tourism entrepreneurs argue that such restrictions have negatively affected their businesses. They have called for freedom with regulation rather than outright bans.
Minister Lekhak added that even Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is informed of the challenges in the region and mentioned that the Sagarmatha Sambaad dialogue program is being organized to help address the issues.
Tourism Minister Pandey, who accompanied Minister Lekhak on the visit, reiterated the government’s commitment to the development of Nepal’s tourism sector. He stated that efforts will be made to enhance infrastructure and management at major tourist destinations like Everest Base Camp.
During the interaction program, tourism entrepreneurs and stakeholders submitted several suggestions and demands. Key issues raised included the need to improve communication facilities at the Base Camp, upgrade the Lukla-Khumbu connecting road, increase the number of emergency helicopters stationed in the area, and establish a welfare fund for climbers.
Record-holding climber Kami Rita Sherpa and other local representatives also urged the government to increase the deployment of liaison officers and to extend the mandate of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) for an additional five years to support road construction efforts in the Khumbu region.
In response, Minister Pandey welcomed the suggestions and assured the stakeholders that the government would take their concerns seriously and work to address them in a timely and effective manner.
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