UP govt felicitates Arunima

Arunima Sinha, the first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest, was today presented Rs 25 lakh by the Uttar Pradesh government and Samajwadi Party.
Sinha, a former national-level volleyball player, was shoved from moving Padmavat Express train on February 11, 2011 while she was on her way to Delhi to appear in recruitment exam for Central Industrial Security Force.
She injured her leg badly which was later amputated by the doctors below the knee.
Before climbing the highest peak, Sinha had said that she wanted to achieve a feat "so that people stop looking at me with pity".
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who met Sinha at his official residence here, presented a cheque of Rs 20 lakhs on behalf of the state government and Rs five lakhs from the Samajwadi Party.

Yadav congratulated Sinha on behalf of the government and also personally for earning kudos for the state by achieving the rare feat of unfurling the flag on Everest despite physical hindrance.

On Sinha's ambition of setting a multi-facility sports academy for physically challenged and poor athletes, the chief minister assured cooperation by the government "whenever she desired to give shape to it".
Sinha, who hails from Ambedkarnagar district of the state, expressed gratitude on getting the reward and respect.
Earlier she had expressed her reservations over not getting any kind of congratulating message from her home state after conquering the Everest.

She said that with the help of the compensation she got from the Railways and an organisation, after losing her leg, she has already purchased land for setting up an academy for the physically challenged in Unnao and now expects help from the government.
With the help of Bachendri Pal, the first woman to climb the Everest, Sinha made the history on May 21.