Balendra Shah government issued guidelines for foreign media in flood-ravaged Nepal. Where it has been said, foreign journalists cannot go to flood-hit areas to gather news without prior permission. Foreign journalists must have government permission and sufficient documents for this.
Nepal's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued a statement saying that foreign journalists must obtain accreditation from the office to collect news in the areas across the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. For this, the concerned journalist has to apply on the special government portal. Copy of passport with valid visa or entry permit must be submitted along with the application form. Not only that, the journalist has to submit the recommendation letter from the concerned media organization and the embassy or foreign ministry of the country from which the journalist is coming. And above all, the foreign national must show the identity card that he is a journalist.
Foreign journalists must get accreditation from the office if they want to collect news in the areas beyond Votekoshi and Trishuli rivers. For this, the concerned journalist has to apply on the special government portal.
According to the Nepalese administration, the accreditation will be given by the Nepalese government on the basis of specific applications. Which will be valid for 15 days. Besides, the administration said that there will be a help desk to assist foreign journalists. But suddenly why the Nepali administration started so strict with foreign journalists? Nothing has been reported by the government in this regard. However, China is believed to be behind it. This flood-ravaged region of northern Nepal borders Tibet. This Chinese-held region has been virtually destroyed by floods. The move is believed to be pressured by China to prevent foreign spies posing as journalists from gathering military information in the region. It was for the same reason that Nepal initially imposed a ban on foreign aid to the flood-hit region. Balendra government later withdrew the order in the face of controversy.
It should be noted that on August 26, due to the glacier collapse, the terrible Harpa Ban in the Trishuli river. Northern Nepal was virtually reduced to rubble. 1344 people have died in this flood so far. More than 5 thousand are missing. Out of which 589 are foreign nationals. As time goes by this number is increasing by leaps and bounds.