Sunday 06 / September / 2026
Kathmandu: Foreign media journalists seeking to collect news from flood-affected areas along Nepal's Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers will be required to obtain a Press Accreditation and Journalist Identity Card from Nepal's Department of Information and Broadcasting (DoIB), according to an official notice issued by the Government of Nepal.
The Department said foreign journalists wishing to report from the affected areas must apply through its online service and submit the required documents, including a copy of their passport with a valid visa or entry permit.
Applicants will also have to submit a recommendation letter from their concerned media organisation , addressed to the Department of Information and Broadcasting, as well as a recommendation letter from the embassy, consular office or Ministry of Foreign Affairs of their respective country.
"Based on the application and supporting documents submitted, the Director General of the Department will issue the Press Accreditation and Journalist Identity Card," the notice said.
The accreditation will be valid for 15 days, in accordance with the Department's decision dated September 2, 2026.
The notice, issued by the Ministry of Information and Communication’s Department of Information and Broadcasting on September 3, said a help desk would also be available at the DoIB to assist foreign media journalists during the application process.
“If you need any help or assistance during the process, a help desk will be available at the DoIB to assist you,” it said.
The notice comes as the Nepali authorities have issued an alert along the river basins of the Budhigandaki River following floods in the mountainous region of Gorkha.
The alert was prompted by a flood in the Therang River, which flows through Chumanubri Rural Municipality-4 and 2 in the mountainous region of Gorkha district. According to officials, the flood earlier this morning swept away four houses and a suspension bridge.
According to the District Police Office, the flood that occurred on Sunday morning washed away the houses of Namrungkanurbu Ongyal (Nurbu Tshiring), Urgen Chhayoden, Lakpa Bhuti and Dorje Gyaljen in Chumanubri Rural Municipality-4.
“No casualties were reported in the incident,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Shrestha, chief of the District Police Office, told ANI over the phone.
“The residents managed to flee to safety after learning about the rising floodwaters. The suspension bridge in the area was also swept away by the river,” Shrestha added.
The destruction of the bridge is expected to cause difficulties for tourists trekking in the Manaslu region. Trekkers are captivated by the steamy lowland valleys and fields of rice, which give way to ice-coated passes stalked by leopards.
Destructive floods and widespread landslides sweeping across the Himalayan nation have claimed 1,341 lives, according to the latest figures released by the Nepal Police.
Subsequently, the death toll was revised to 1,331 as search and rescue operations continued on Saturday, alongside the safe rescue of a Chinese national from an audit tunnel of the Upper Trishuli 1 Hydropower Project and a 64-year-old woman from Betrawati in Nuwakot.
