Many dishonest companies have reportedly served adulterated food to make tourists sick and then moved them for sudden evacuation through fake helicopter services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\u201cThis is a crime, and such operators should be prosecuted by the Home Ministry under organized crime after necessary investigation if anyone lodges a complaint,\u201d the committee noted.<\/p>\n
Report Recommendations<\/strong>
\nIn its 700-page report to the government, the committee recommended to handover rescue activities completely to the Nepali Police department to ensure security & safety aspects and control the scope of illicit activities, starting from the next tourist season in September-November period.<\/p>\n\u201cWe are concerned by the bogus helicopter rescues and false medical insurance claims. In order to stop such offences, we have decided to entrust all tourist rescue-related tasks to the Nepal Police,\u201d Tourism Secretary Krishna Prasad Devkota<\/span> said in a statement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nDevkota informed that they are yet to \u2018prepare a working guideline related to the rescue operations and implement it from the autumn season\u2019 following the Cabinet\u2019s approval. <\/p>\n
<\/strong>Committee Proposals:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- As part of proposed measures, Nepali Police should start seeking quotes from helicopter companies and hospitals via open competition in line with the Public Procurement Act. <\/li>\n
- Necessary arrangements have to be made facilitating the reimbursement of medical and helicopter costs in line with clients\u2019 insurance policies.<\/li>\n
- Special tourist rescue coordination unit at Tribhuvan International Airport with dedicated tollfree number to address emergency issues during the peak tourist seasons<\/li>\n
- Every hospital and clinic should report to the Department of Tourism with all necessary details related to treatment they offer to tourists.<\/li>\n
- Tourists planning to trek above 3,000 meters elevations should mandatorily have a tourist guide accompanying them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The committee\u2019s recommendations were based on a detailed study on similar cases of rescue operations in other parts of the world such as Switzerland, Scotland, Canada and France.<\/p>\n
In total, the committee recommended action against five such companies without foreign exchange permits for claiming rescue charges from tourists, six hospitals for collecting heavy fees from tourists for treatment & claims against their insurance policies, and many others involving in tax evasion.<\/p>\n
Overall, the committee investigated 36 trekking, travel and rescue agencies, 10 helicopter companies, 6 hospitals considering complaints by tourism entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ending a widespread criticism over the insurance scam involving Nepal\u2019s trekking and mountaineering agencies, Nepal Government\u2019s…<\/span><\/p>\nRead more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":761,"featured_media":9444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[8058,4006,1076,8056,8064,8061,98,8063,8065,4480,8062,701,4482,6117,2186,4942,8057,8060,8059,177,4913],"yoast_head":"\n
Tourist Rescue Scam: Nepal\u2019s Special Committee Uncovers Findings - Nepalisansar<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n