UN Secretary-General Guterres visits Pumdikot; says communities dramatically affected by climate change

Gandaki / Oct 30: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who arrived in Pokhara, visited popular religious tourist site of Pokhara, Pumdikot, on Monday.

Chairperson of Pumdikot Development Committee Chandra Kant Baral and Mayor of Pokhara metropolitan city Dhan Raj Acharya, among others greeted the UN Secretary General at Pumdikot at 4:30 pm.

Secretary-General Guterres visited the tallest idol of the Lord Shiva (Mahadev) at Pumdikot and also enjoyed sightseeing of panoramic view of mountains as well as different places in the surrounds of Pokhara including Phewa Lake.

On the occasion, the UN Secretary-General spent around half-an-hour at Pumdikot, said Committee member Matrika Baral. The 51-meter tall idol of Mahadev constructed at Pumdikot is gaining popularity as the attractive tourist destination of Pokhara. One can view different mountains including Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Pokhara Valley from Pumdikot, which is located around 13 kilometers away from main bazaar of Pokhara.

Committee Chair Baral shared the belief that the UN Secretary-General’s visit to Pumdikot would help promote global place. He expressed excitement to have an opportunity to greet the chief of global governing body.

Similarly, Guterres also enjoyed boat ride in the Phewa Lake and visited Tal Barahi Temple.

Communities dramatically affected by climate change: UN Secretary-General Guterres

Visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said ecology and communities are being dramatically affected by climate change.

He made this statement through a video message from the base camp of Mt Everest in Solukhumbu following the observation of the Sagarmatha region this morning. During the visit, he reached Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality-4 in Solukhumbu district.

He also urged the world community to help prevent climate change.

“Glaciers are melting at record levels and sea level is rising. Serious impacts of climate change have been seen here like in Antarctica and Greenland. We see floods, we see landslides; we see communities being dramatically impacted. We need to stop this matter,” he said.

He said he wants to draw the attention of the world community to prevent impacts of climate change seen in the ecology and life in the Himalayan region. “We must make sure that we must limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Glaciers are retreating. We cannot retreat. We must move forward on climate action,” he said. RSS