Manang, Apr. 12: Permission for the collection of Yarsagumba (Chinese caterpillar fungus) will be granted from the third week of April in Manang. 

Chief District Officer Subas Kumar Lamichhane informed that preparations are underway to grant permission to the people of Manang for the collection of Yarsagumba.

The third week of April to the second week of July in Manang is considered the appropriate season for the collection of this unique caterpillar fungus. In 2010, seven people from the Gorkha district were killed by the locals while searching for the Yarsagumba in Namgyakhark. 

After that, the collection was halted by the then Nar and Phu Village Development Committee, but the collection has resumed this year with tight security, Lamichhane informed.

He informed that bearing in mind the security risk, security has been tightened to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Informing that sufficient security personnel could not be mobilised, he urged everyone to act responsibly.

The mayors of the various municipalities, chairpersons of rural municipalities of the district, the heads of the security agencies, and the officials of the protection committee participated in the discussion programme held on April 4.

They emphasised that the officers of the security committee should take the lead on security issues.

Similarly, the Chairman of Narpabhumi Rural Municipality, Konjo Tenzing Lama, said that a fee of Rs. 35,000 has been fixed for the collection of the Yarsagumba in the area.

He said that as in the past, people from other districts were prohibited from collecting the Yarsagumba in Nar and Phu. 

Since Nar and Pho of Narpabhumi are both protected and prohibited areas, from a security point of view, people from other districts have been banned from collecting the Yarsagumba to avoid a situation similar that occurred in the past. 

Similarly, Yaad Ghale, a conservationist and ward chair of Naso-8, said that the district has already given permission and soon a committee meeting will be held to start the collection of Yarsagumba. 

He said that preparations are being made according to the decision of the meeting after obtaining the receipt. After the approval for yarsa collection was given by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) area office in Manang, locals from Gorkha and Lamjung, along with those from Manang, will reach the lakes of Manang to collect the herbs. 

After the Nar incident, ACAP started organising the Yarsagumba collection in Manang. In Manang, which has four local levels, this caterpillar fungus is found in all lakes except Dharapani and Thonche. 

There is a provision that collectors in Manang must leave one of the 10 yarsa picked at the same place. 

Areas surrounding Namgya Khark, Kicho Lake, Yak Khark, Ghumre Lake, Pisang Lake, Naple Lake, Fuku Lake, and other lakes in Manang are among the places where Yersagumba is found the most. Yarsa collection work will start from Namgya Khark and end at Nar, Phu, and Khangsar Khark of Upper Manang.