Modi congratulates tribal students for scaling Mount Everest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated five tribal students for scaling Mount Everest and also praised the all-women crew of INSV Tarini for circumventing the globe.

The tribal students -- Maneesha Dhurve, Pramesh Ale, Umakant Madhavi, Kavidas Katmode and Vikas Soyam -- from an Ashram School in Maharashtra's Chandrapur, scaled the world's highest peak on May 16.

Modi, in the 44th edition of his monthly radio address "Mann Ki Baat", said: "These Ashram School students began training in August 2017, covering Wardha, Hyderabad, Darjeeling and Leh-Ladakh. These young boys and girls had been selected under 'Mission Shaurya'. True to its name, they brought glory to the country with their brave deed of conquering the Everest."

He also praised several others, including 16-year-old Shivangi Pathak, for scaling the Everest.

Pathak became the youngest Indian woman to scale Everest from the Nepal side.

"For centuries, Everest has been throwing the gauntlet at humankind. And for long, brave hearts have been responding to the challenge," he said.

He spoke about Ajit Bajaj and his daughter -- the first ever father-daughter duo to ascend Everest.

Speaking about a Border Security Force (BSF) group who scaled the Everest and while returning, they brought loads of trash littered there, he said: "This deed is commendable indeed; it also displays their commitment towards cleanliness and the environment."

Modi congratulated the all-women crew of INSV Tarini for circumventing the globe.

The team, led by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi and comprising Lt. Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P. Swathi and Lieutenants S. Vijaya Devi, B. Aishwarya and Payal Gupta, had sailed out from Goa in September 2017.

"These six illustrious daughters of India circumnavigated the globe for over more than 250 days on board the INSV Tarini, returning home on May 21," he said.

Travelling across different oceans and seas, they covered almost twenty thousand nautical miles, "this was a first of a kind incident in the world", the Prime Minister said.

"I congratulate these daredevils, especially the daughters from the core of my heart," he added.

--IANS

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