Veteran rock climber and mountaineer dies

Veteran rock climber and mountaineer Gautam Kanjilal died of a lung infection at a city hospital here, official sources said.

Kanjilal, 69, passed away yesterday. He is survived by his wife and a son.

An engineer by profession and a member of city-based mountaineering club Himalayan Association, Kanjilal began his outward bound activities way back in 1970 when he attended a rock climbing course at Susunia Hills.

Subsequently he underwent training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling and took part in the expedition to hitherto unclimbed Sudarshan in 1978.

He also acted as an instructor and course commandant in various rock climbing and adventure courses till a few years back.

A keen rock climber, Kanjilal explored quite a few rock routes in the hills of Bankura and Purulia districts and one of them is named after him (Kanjimal) which he pioneered along with three other rock climbers during late 1970s.