Climbers on the way to Mount Qomolangma in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. /CFP
The Nepal Army announced on Sunday a plan to collect 10 tons of waste from three mountains this year, including the world's tallest, Mount Qomolangma.
The army will send three teams to the 8,848.86-meter-high Mount Qomolangma, which straddles Nepal and China, the fourth highest Mount Lhotse (8,516 meters), and Mount Nuptse (7,861 meters), with the support of Nepali Sherpa climbers.
"Our teams will leave for the cleaning campaign on Thursday," said Brig Gen Sanjay Deuja who oversees the cleaning campaign.
"Along with the waste, we also plan to recover and bring back five dead bodies lying abandoned there," he said at a press meet, noting the cleaning campaign will last for 50 days.
The climber's camp on Mount Qomolangma. /CFP
The Nepal Army started to collect waste on different mountains in 2019, but suspended the cleaning mission in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The waste collected shall be segregated as biodegradable and non-biodegradable, the army said.
By Friday, 264 mountaineers from different countries and regions had been permitted to scale 15 peaks inside Nepal during the spring climbing season this year. Of them, 130 will try their luck on Mount Qomolangma, according to Nepal's Department of Tourism.