Clean Nepal: Green Nepal, a campaign started by the Nepal Tourism Board in association with Nabil Bank to clean all heritage sites of Nepal, kicked off on Friday. The event started off at 7 AM with opening remarks from Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the Nepali minister of Tourism. “We need to get things done in tourism in newer ways to reach newer heights, this campaign is a call to rebrand the tourism industry,” he said.
The first event of the campaign held on Friday saw participation from the minister of tourism, students of Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management, Employees of Nabil Bank and Nepal Police. Wielding brooms and trash bags in their gloved hands, the rally walked from Basantapur cleaning the streets and alleys of Assan, Bhotahity up to Narshing Chowk of Thamel. The cleaning went on for about one hour.
“We need to work for a longer tourist stay, the biggest problem with Kathmandu’s tourism industry is the pollution so getting tourists to stay longer also entails ensuring a cleaner place for tourists” Shrestha concluded.
Text by: Saaid Koirala
Photos by: Sonabi Bhattarai