BHIMDATTANAGAR: The Darchula District Education Office has banned students and teachers from collecting yarsagumba, also known as caterpillar fungus, as most of the schools in the hilly district were found closed after the students and local teachers left for highlands to collect this prized herb.

About 60 schools in the district were found closed in previous years disrupting the teaching learning activities.

With this decision of the DEO, students and teachers were stopped from leaving the schools, said Baburam Dhungana, Darchula DEO Chief.

Dhungana added that they were inspecting the schools whether they were closed following the decision through different resource centres.

Collecting yarsagumba is taken as a handsome income-generating seasonal business in the mountainous region as the people can earn good amount of money by selling it.