Kathmandu, August 27
The Tourism Department has sought clarifications from 15 liaison officers who lied that they visited Everest Base Camp during the climbing season.
This comes after the tourism ministry on August 18, ordered the department to take action against officers, who claimed compensation for discharging their duties on the mountain but did not go their station. Following the order, the department has asked the liaison officers the reason why they did not report to work. The department has given the liaisons 15 days to furnish an explanation.
According to the department’s Director Meera Archarya, action will be taken against those officials who fail to submit valid reasons for their actions. According to Acharya, a total of 37 officers were deployed to go to EBC, however, only 22 made it there.
The other 15 scooped up government allowance without even reaching EBC. The government is planning to place a life ban on these officials who did not fulfil their duties. Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai earlier said that the liaison officers who did not go to EBC will never be assigned the role again.
