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Peak to be named after scout founder
May
19, 2005
Nepal
is to name one of its new mountain peaks after Lord Baden Powell
to honour the father of the world scouts movement.
The process for naming the 5,890 metres high peak in Lamtang
Region, Rasuwa district, after Baden Powell has been completed.
Lord Baden Powell had founded the scout movement in 1807.
The mountain, which is called the ‘Urkema peak’ by the local
people, is to be formally named as ‘Baden Powell Scout Peak’. The
decision to this effect has already been forwarded to the Council
of Ministers for official announcement, according to the Ministry
of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
The urkema peak is to be renamed to the memory of the late Powell
on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the founding of
the scouts movement. The renaming is taking place at the special
initiatives and request of the Nepal scouts.
The mountain would be opened for mountaineering expeditions the
very day its name is officially announced. The Ministry of Tourism
and Civil Aviation has also proposed a rebate in the
mountaineering royalty for five years effective from the same
date.
National Commissioner of the Nepal Scouts, Shreeram Lamichhane
believes that this new step taken by Nepal would help a great deal
in introducing Nepal to the outside world in the context of the
number of scout members reaching some 35,000,000 in over 200
countries at present.
It is a matter of great honour to name an entire mountain peak
after the founder of the world scout movement in its 100 year-old
history, he said, adding that this would further enhance Nepal’s
prestige in the international arena.
While expressing the hope that a majority of the scouts in the
world would try to climb the mountain named after Lord Baden
Powell at least once in their lifetime, he said the step would
also give a significant boost to the tourism industry in Nepal.
Ram Gopal Karmacharya, National Secretary of Nepal Scouts, expects
that since climbing a mountain or a hill also constitute one of
the adventurous activities of the scouts, a lot of scouts from
across the world would come to Nepal to scale the mountain to be
named to the memory of their founder.
Nepal scout requested His Majesty’s Government for naming any one
of the mountain peaks in Nepal after Baden Powell in accordance
with a proposal endorsed at the Asia and Pacific Region Conference
of the scout held last October in Daresalaam, Brunei.
So far altogether 1,311 mountain peaks, including this peak, in
Nepal have been identified, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and
Civil Aviation has stated.
Of all the identified peaks, the number of mountain peaks opened
by His Majesty’s Government for mountaineering activities has now
reached 327 with the addition of the Urkema Peak soon to be named
as the Baden Powell scout peak.
Although the government has opened such a large number of
mountains for climbing purpose, many mountain peaks have not been
attempted by any climbers so far due to various reasons, lack of
transportation facilities being one of them.
However, the proposed new peak is said to be accessible for
climbing for many reasons including the safety aspects.
Moreover, there can be no two opinions over the topic of the
mountain peak remaining an icon and a subject of interest for the
millions of young boys and girls involved in scouts throughout the
world as it would be named after the very founder of the world
scout movement that teaches discipline, self-reliance and
patriotism to thes
TAAN
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