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Kathmandu Monday November 19, 2001 Marga 04, 2058.
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Senseless law
I am a Nepal lover who has visited this
country over fifty times. I have been nicknamed as Baje by those who know me well. I am
happy and grateful to this country because I enjoy the beauty and nature of this country.
So, this time I decided to visit again this country along with a video camera to capture
the beauty and show it to my friends back home in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, it
proved a bitter disappointment. The checkpoint before Dunche did not allow me to carry the
video camera inside the Lantang Park. Besides the entrance fee 1000 rupees for the park,
the authority concerned there asked me to pay 1000 US dollars for the permit of video
camera. I do not think any tourist, who visits this country for a trekking purpose,
carries 1000 US dollars that too in remote areas. The concerned authority forced me to
leave the video camera with them and told me to collect it on the way to Kathmandu. I had
to return from Dunche without trekking Gosainkund-Helambu. This visit upset me as a result
of senseless rule of this country.
I took photographs every time I visited and
it never became a problem. But what I have found this time is a discriminatory approach
between a video camera and camera. Are the fees for visa (US 50 dollars) for a month,
Basantapur darbar and other temples not enough? Do we have dollar trees in our country?
How can the government expect that a tourist can afford to pay US 1000 dollars for the
permit of a video camera ? I am not only the victim of such a senseless law. There are
many. But if I fly by helicopter to the Kyanjing Gompa, I do not need my passport, nor
does anybody harass me. Are such laws normal in this country or does the concerned
authority need to prevent such harassment to encourage tourists?
Arie Langereis, Dutch tourist |
