Jharkhand climbers scale Mt. Everest

New Delhi: Three climbers from Jharkhand, mentored by the legendary Bachendri Pal, have become the latest to scale the Mt. Everest peak.

The trio of Binita Soren, Meghlal Mahato and Rajendra Singh Pal Pal set off for the expedition to date on March 25, from Jiri, Nepal. After an arduous journey of two months, on the morning of May 26, the three scaled the peak. "It was unbelievable. It was all so exciting. I still can`t believe we did it," a beaming Binita said. "It was not easy at all. The weather was changing by the minute. A lot of people were attempting to scale Mt Everest around the same time. We were holding on to our hopes and wanted to make a dash for the peak from Camp Col. Then, fortunately, the weather Gods showered their kindness and we were able to successfully conquer Mt Everest." As for Meghlal, this expedition held a different meaning. "Life has been full of struggles so far. Coming from a rural background and from the weaker section of society, Binita and I have had a lot to surmount before this dream could become a reality. Mt Everest has taken me from where I belong to the top of the world," he said. "After conquering the peak, the first thing that came to my mind was my family and God almighty. The next thing I could think of was to thank Ms Pal, our mentor. Without these forces and support behind us, I don`t think we would have come this far." Rajendra is the brother of Bachendri Pal and for him, this expedition was akin to retracing the path of his sister`s journey way back in 1984, when she became the first Indian woman and only the fifth woman in the world to conquer Mt Everest. It had taken him a patient wait of 29 years to repeat that feat. And so, this achievement means a lot to him. "As a Manager in Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF), I have undergone extensive training in mountaineering, including finer aspects like search and rescue, as well as alpine mountaineering. Despite scaling several peaks during my career, this was one challenge I was eagerly waiting for. It was worth the wait." Tata Steel, through TSAF, had sponsored Rs 75 lakh for the expedition. The Company`s support to the expedition was part of its overall focus on facilitating the full realisation of the latent potential among the youth in Jharkhand. PTI