Kathmandu, May 3 (PTI): The base camp of Mt Everest located at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres in Nepal has become a protest venue for hundreds of Sherpas, who are known as the backbone of mountaineers.
The Sherpas began their protest yesterday, pleading to the authorities to issue them summit certificates that are pending for nearly a year.
"We have decided to hold the gathering at the base camp to draw the government's attention to our demands," Lhakpa Rangdu Sherpa, General Secretary of the Everest Summiteers' Association, said.
The Sherpas have not received their summit certificates for about an year after the government refused to recognise their ascents citing a clause of the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation that bars them from obtaining such certificates.
The existing regulation framed in 2002 considers only those who obtain climbing permit by paying royalty to the government as members of an expedition.
The Sherpa climbers, who have scaled several peaks including Mt Everest, have sent a five-page memorandum to the Ministry for Tourism Culture and Civil Aviation and Nepal Mountaineering Association, drawing their attention to the demand.
"The government's ignorance is highly deplorable and intolerable," the memorandum reads.
For most of the foreign climbers, who are a key source of income in the cash-strapped Himalayan nation, climbing a mountain peak without Sherpas' help is almost impossible in Nepal during the desperately short climbing window.
Pemba Dorje Sherpa, who holds the record for the fastest ascent of Mt Everest in eight hours and 10 minutes, said the government should immediately issue the certificates to all Sherpas who have successfully climbed the mountains.
The government has meanwhile offered only assurance.
Dinesh Bhattarai, director general at the Department of Tourism, said the government was committed to addressing the genuine concerns of Sherpa climbers. "The ministry will expedite its process to amend the regulation," he added.
