SHILLONG: The mountaineers from the North East who summited Mount Everest between May 17-24 were honoured by Jitendra Singh, Minister in charge of Youth Affairs and Sports and General Bikram Singh, Chief of the Army Staff.
At a solemn function organised to flag down the expedition at Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi on June 3, the leader of the expedition, Dr L Surjit presented a commemorating photograph of the 1st North East India Mt Everest Expedition to the Minister.
The expedition was funded by North Eastern Council, Shillong, and the Planning Department, Govt. of Manipur.
O Ibobi Singh, the Manipur Chief Minister and DS Poonia, Manipur Chief Secretary, Govt. of Manipur are the Chef de Mission.
Speaking at the function, he has assured to visit Manipur Mountaineering Institute, Lamdan and also assured to make a Mt Everest Expedition by North East mountaineers an annual affair.
He has sought a proposal from the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association (MMTA) for another expedition.
He has assured of all possible help to promote mountaineering and adventure sports in the region.
The Minister of Rural Development, Govt. of India was also present during the function.
At the felicitation function organised by General Bikram Singh, Chief of the Army Staff at South Block, New Delhi, the General presented the team and officials with a memento.
The Expedition Leader and PRO also presented a commemorating photograph of the expedition and the memento of the expedition.
Speaking at the felicitation function, the Chief of the Army Staff congratulated the team and assured all possible help to the MMTA.
The Vice Chief of Army Staff and DGMT were also present during the function.
He also stressed that, the young team of mountaineers have excelled in endurance, discipline and team spirit, that’s one of the reason for succeeding the Expedition.
The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh was scheduled to host another felicitation programme for the team on Monday evening at Arunachal Bhavan, New Delhi.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that Meghalaya’s Wansuk Myrthong, who was a member of the expedition, will arrive in Shillong on Tuesday evening.
Myrthong is only the second person, and the first woman, from the state to scale the world’s highest mountain.