Illegal use of drone cameras in Khumbu region of Solukhumbu district has gone unchecked.

High altitude trekkers and mountaineers have been using drone cameras without government permit, said Chakra Karki, a local tourism entrepreneur.

He claimed that some trekking agencies and even police are allowing visitors to take drone footage of the areas some of which could be sensitive in terms of security.

According to the government regulations, one must obtain permission from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to use drone cameras.

In Khumbu, many tourists are seen using drone cameras, despite the authority’s claim that it has been monitoring the activities of the 

Roshani Devi Karki, of Sagarmatha National Park (SNP), claimed that the park authority and police have been carrying out regular monitoring to check illegal use of drone cameras.

She admitted that the monitoring was not effective as they would like to be because of insufficient human resource with the SNP.

 Area Police Office in Namche is also responsible for controlling illegal use of drone cameras.

But the police personnel there rarely venture to other parts of the region unless there is some incident. 

According to the local people, drone cameras are mostly used in Lukla, Phakding, Jorsalle, Khumjung, Tyangboche, Pangboche, Dingboche, Lubuche, Gorakshep and the Everest Base Camp.

They said use of drone cameras cannot be controlled unless the authorities start taking action against the trekking agencies who have been helping their foreigner clients skirt the law.