KalingaTV News Network
Bhubaneswar: Swarnalata Dalai, a 20-year-old tribal girl from Kalinganagar of Jajpur district in Odisha, has been selected to be part of a team that will trek to Mount Everest in Nepal next in the coming weeks.
Dalai will participate in the Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition team, sponsored by Tata Steel and organised by Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF).
“I am very excited to be a part of the Mount Everest expedition. I am grateful to our state government, Tata Steel and Tata Steel Adventure Foundation for placing their trust and confidence in me by providing such a huge opportunity,” Dalai said.
For “Mission Everest 2018”, three candidates — Swarnalata Dalai, Poonam and Sandeep Toliya – have been trained under the foundation’s adventure programme chief Bachendri Pal.
They will leave from Delhi for Kathmandu on March 27, and then proceed toward the Mount Everest base camp.
“We are proud of Swarnalata and would like to congratulate her for being selected in the team to trek Mount Everest,” said Chanchal Rana of the Odisha Department of Sports and Youth Services.
In 2017, Dalai had participated in Mt. Rudugaira Expedition under the Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition.
The tribal girl also participated in few other expeditions like the Roopkund Trek in Garhwal, one of the toughest treks and the Indian Women’s Gokyo – Everest Grand Circle Expedition, which helped her to get selected in the Mt. Everest Expedition 2018.
“We at Tata Steel would like to thank the Odisha government for providing us with continuous support for promoting sports in the state. We hope the selection of Swarnalata Dalai will further encourage the youngsters of Odisha,” said Manikanta Naik, Chief Resident Executive, Tata Steel, Bhubaneswar.
Trekking on Mount Everest is a difficult task. Climbers must be in top shape in order to withstand any obstacles that the harsh environment may throw at them. The foundation says it regularly conducts trekking programmes and expeditions to peaks across the world.
Ms Kalinga