This year, the Yarsagumba collection will be opened in Dolpa from Jestha 10 and in Mugu from Jestha 13. In Dolpa, about 20 Yarsagumba collection sites within the Shefoksundo National Park and 15 Yarsagumba collection sites within Mugumkarmarong Rural Municipality in Mugu are being opened.

The entry fee for Yarsagumba collection in various forest and Yarsagumba collection sites in Mugumkarmarong is Rs 2,500 for those outside the district and Rs 2,000 for those within the district, said the Rural Municipality Chairman Tshiringkapne Lama. According to him, the municipality has also developed a procedure for Yarsagumba collection.

‘We open the Patan every year at a fixed time to control smuggling, and from this year we have made a procedure to collect Yarsha within the standards,’ he said. ‘A procedure has also been made to collect Yarsha in a way that does not affect biodiversity.’ He informed that about 150 volunteers will be mobilized to organize the Yarsha collection. According to him, additional security personnel and health workers will also be mobilized in the Patan area.

According to the rural municipality, Yarsha is found in two dozen Patans including Sano Koiki, Thulo Koiki, Rimar, Tanke, Hangdang, and Chapakhola. Last year, about 10,000 collectors from neighboring districts including Mugu collected Yarsha, said Subash Rawal, the rural municipality’s chief administrative officer. According to him, about 6.5 million rupees were collected from collectors last year.

Arrangements have been made to pay entry fees for collecting yarsa in the Shephoksundo National Park and national forests under the Division Forest Office in Dolpa on Jestha 5, 6 and 7. This year, children under the age of 16 are prohibited from entering the park, said the acting chief of the park, Vigyan Sen. According to him, the entry fee for collecting yarsa is Rs 500 for residents of the buffer zone, Rs 2,000 for locals of Dolpa and Rs 3,000 for citizens outside the district.