A 20-year-old tribal youth from Telangana's Ibrahimpatnam village in Ranga Reddy district has scaled great heights as he summited Mount Everest and reached its peak earlier this week – and once he got there, he held up the photo of a policeman and an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer – along with the Indian tricolour and the NCC flag.
Tukaram Amgoth, who began pursuing mountaineering at the age of 17, has already scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa. As his family's financial condition was poor, he received assistance from Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat, and IFS officer Sunita Bhagwat, who is the Tourism Commissioner of Telangana. The couple helped him financially to undertake his expedition to Everest, and as a token of gratitude, Tukaram held up their photos at the peak, along with the Indian flag and the NCC flag.
According to media reports, it was with the NCC that he first attended a basic mountaineering course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi before joining the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Sports in Jammu.
However, his journey was far from easy. He started his expedition on April 6 and lost two of his team members due to bad weather. The death of two people in front of one's eyes would have dissuaded anybody, but Tukaram said he was determined to continue his journey and went ahead to summit the tallest peak on Earth.
“I can’t believe I am still alive, it’s god’s grace. It’s been very scary and we are dejected to see our friends dying here – and some are still missing. I had a narrow escape. I injured my foot badly, and had to limp, and eventually came to Everest Base Camp (EBC) on one leg,” Tukaram told DC.
It's not only CP Rachakonda but Telangana Tourism Commissioner Sunita Bhagwat , Advisor Ramvmchandru Tejavat and others. #Congratulations to Among Tukaram for his splendid achievement. Best wishes. https://t.co/Els9DOLtXB
— Rachakonda Police (@RachakondaCop) May 25, 2019
Tukaram now wants to continue his goal of scaling the seven highest peaks on seven continents.
Earlier this week, it was reported that two Indians died on Mount Everest due to a 'traffic jam', just days after expedition leaders and the Nepal government claimed that overcrowding on the world's tallest mountain was not a worry.
A 'traffic jam' occurs on the Everest when many climbers vie for the summit at the same time and can be especially dangerous above 8,000 metres, called the 'Death Zone'. The last steep challenge before the summit occurs after the Hillary Step – a vertical rock face at 8,790 metres.
In a 'traffic jam', exhausted climbers are often forced to wait for several hours for their turn to ascend or descend on a single rope, increasing risks of exhaustion, frostbite or altitude sickness. Climbers could also run out of oxygen.