In the run-up to Everest Day, a controversy has shrouded its neighbour, Mt Kanchenjunga.

Everest Day is celebrated across the world on May 29 to commemorate the first ascent of Mt Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa on May 29, 1953.

Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) has written a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, requesting the Indian government to ensure all expeditions to Mt Kanchenjunga are banned from the Nepal side.

Kanchenjunga, (28,169 feet), the third-highest peak in the world, can be climbed from both Sikkim and Nepal sides. However, Sikkim has banned all expeditions from its side because of spiritual and religious significance.

Joe Brown and George Band, who first climbed Kanchenjunga on May 25, 1955, had stopped just short of the true summit, keeping a promise given to Tashi Namgyal, the Chogyal of the Kingdom of Sikkim, that the mountaintop would remain inviolate.

However, in the course of the latter treks to Kanchenjunga, this might not have been the case, though it is assumed that most treks stop short of the summit.

Sonam Lama, minister of ecclesiastical affairs of Sikkim, said over 500 persons, including Indians, had climbed Mt Kanchenjunga from the Nepal side.

The issue has gained urgency after reports that a team from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) based in Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, climbed Mt Kanchenjunga on May 18 from the Nepal side.

Golay, in his letter to Shah dated May 24, referred to the NIMAS expedition.

“The act of scaling this sacred peak is not only a matter of serious concern but also a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim,” Golay said.

He stated that the mountain, which means “five treasures of the high snow (in Sikkimese-Tibetan dialect)", symbolises five divine treasures.

“The mountain is revered as the abode of the principal guardian and protector-deity of Sikkim known as ‘Dzoe-Nga’. This sacred being is worshiped as the ‘Pho-lha’ or chief of the entire assemblage of supernatural entities of Sikkim. These deities were recognised and anointed as the ‘guardian deities of the land’ by Ugyen Guru Rinpoche, also known as Guru Padmasambhava, the Patron Saint of Sikkim,” Golay wrote to Shah.

Golay stressed that in recognition of the religious sanctity, the Sikkim government has imposed a complete ban on climbing the Kanchenjunga.

“Hon’ble Sir, in view of the above, we earnestly urge that this matter be treated with the utmost sensitivity and respect. We further request Your Honour to take up the issue with the Government of Nepal, to ensure that no future expeditions are permitted on the sacred mountain, in deference to the deeply held beliefs and cultural values of the people of Sikkim,” Golay wrote.