A team of trekkers led by British adventurer Rosie Swale arrived at the eastern frontier of the country on June 12, 69 days after they commenced the trek from the western frontier of Hilsa, Humla. This is the first time the feat has been achieved at one go. After spending a night in Ilam, the 14-member team arrived at Pashupatinagar June 12 afternoon, to be welcomed by a huge gathering which accompanied the team to the Nepal-India border. "I love Nepal, " said Rosie after setting her foot across the border, triggering cries of jubilation from hundreds of people who had gathered there to see the historic expedition complete. The town of Pashupatinagar was all active throughout the day due to the arrival.

The towns folk welcomed her with Lakhe dance, offering khadas, vermillion and later a cultural program as well. The trek was organized to collect funds for keeping up medical facilities in the remote district of Humla. At present, Nepal Trust has revamped a health post and set up four other health posts in the district apart from improving facilities in the only hospital in Humla. Hari Prasad Limbu, director of Nepal Trust, said today that four more health posts will be set up in Humla soon. Humla is one of the most remote regions of the country with unproductive soil and very poor transportation and communication infrastructures. Renchin Lama, a member of the team and a resident of Humla said that the journey is special not only in its social value, but also because it has helped to bring out various secret of Nepal hitherto unknown. "There is lot more to Nepal than we know. This trek has uncovered the unknown," he said.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, Swale said that the trek was difficult. "We went through blizzards and snow. We got lost in jungles, spent nights under the stars and were attacked by leeches and snakes." There were perceptible leech-marks on Rosie's feet. The team also went through difficult passes like Tushila (5,500 m), Thorangla (5400 m), Nara (4500 m), Gomar Larke Danfe, Shalpa and Maure. Despite the hardships, Rosie found the trek a life-changing experience. "For people with dreams, we have managed to get across the message that anything is possible," said the 58-year-old grandmother. She also disclosed that contrary to the expected 1500 km, the trek stretched across 1700 kms.

However, the team measured the length of Nepal in 69 days, 15 days less than 84 days expected earlier. The only other female member of the team, Pema Dolma Lama, a health worker based in Humla, said that the trek was smooth. "Two of our team members discontinued from Kakani and two from Tumlingtar due to health reasons. The remaining 14 also suffered minor health problems during the trek, particularly high altitude sickness and diarrhea. But there were no major hiccups." Lama believes that the trek was a revealing experience for her in terms of discovering the country and its people. "We are more interested in going abroad. A trek to remote Nepal is a more rewarding effort," she said. Lama understood the hardships of Nepalese women more closely during the trek. "My participation in the trek shows that Nepalese women can achieve what men can," she said joyously.

OTHER NEWS

• Mustangi king and his people suffer from cataract: Jigme Palwar Bista, king of the land beyond the mountains, Mustang, was happy to visit an eye camp near his village. It was the first surgical eye clinic in his village that is situated 3,800 metres above the sea level. The doctors told bespectacled Bista that a small patch was seen in his left eye, an indication of cataract. "He wouldn't need an operation right away," said Khim Gurung, supervisor of Mustang outreach micro-surgical eye clinic - 2003, organised by Til Ganga Eye Hospital. Bista, 71, one of the four kings recognised by the state, might be happy about his eyes, but he would be sad to know that almost ten percent of the total population in his land of 14,000 inhabitants have cataract problem. In cataract a person's eye lens become whitish.
  
  
• Argeli herb faces extinction: Argeli, a kind of herb that is in demand in Japan, the USA and some other countries as well, is facing extinction threat, because of the lack of conservation measures and its cultivation not being undertaken on commercial basis. Said to be used in making yen, Japanese banknote, Argeli has been exported abroad for the last six years.
  
  
• Tourist Map of Pokhara faces fund crunch: As an ongoing effort for the promotion of tourism in Pokhara, a favourite tourism hot spot, a tourism map of the city would be prepared in the near future. Pokhara Tourism Promotion Committee (PTPC), with an estimated expense of Rs 400,000 will prepare the Greater Pokhara Valley Tourism Map. The amount would be collected from the city. Ninety per cent of the preparatory works have already been completed.
  
  
• Concerns raised over rising air pollution in the Valley: Medicos and environmentalists have voiced serious concerns over the air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley as it is triggering "significant human health damage, urging the government, environmentalists and civil society to work to adopt immediate measures. "The air pollution-related diseases are rising alarmingly in the Kathmandu Valley," said Prof Dr Bimala Thapa, Head of Community Medicine and Family Health Department at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), referring to the findings of a number of studies on air quality and its impact on health.
  
  

By Hari Shrestha, Resident Representative in Kathmandu