24 May 2008
Born in the lap of the Garhwal Himalayas at Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, Ashish Kumar Singh became attracted to mountains at a very young age and always dreamt of conquering the lofty peaks. On Thursday morning at 5:30 am, 28-year old Ashish – posted as a constable with the Uttarakhand Police – realised his childhood dream and scaled Mount Everest – the tallest peak in the world.
An avid mountaineer, Ashish was part of a select group of 15 mountaineers chosen by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the expedition. Nine of them successfully reached the peak on Thursday.
On reaching the top of the world, Ashish unfurled the Uttarakhand Police flag, which was presented to him by Director General of Police Subhash Joshi in February this year before he left for the expedition. The team, which comprises of policemen from other states as well, had started their ascent from the base camp at Jhangmu on April 11 and were able to reach their target more than six weeks later.
Elated at Ashish’s feat, DGP Joshi announced a cash reward of Rs 20,000 and also recommended an out of turn promotion as Sub-Inspector for the constable who joined service seven years ago. He would also be felicitated on November 9 – the state foundation day.
But more than his colleagues and superiors in the Uttarakhand Police, it is Ashish’s 64-year old father Bhola Singh, his mother and elder brother and sister who are ecstatic at Ashish’s climb to glory. A retired police Inspector, Bhola recalls how his son used to scale small mountains even as a young child and how they missed him during his brother’s wedding on May 7.
“Ashish was always interested in mountaineering and he completed all the courses at the Uttarkashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering before joining the Uttarakhand Police in 2001,” Bhola said. An adventure lover, besides mountaineering, Ashish had also undertaken courses in para-gliding, rafting and canoeing and taken part in nearly a dozen successful expeditions to peaks like Kamet and Abi-Gamin before he was chosen for the Everest expedition.
“We are all very happy for Ashish and it is because of the blessings of goddess Durga that my son was able to manage the difficult feat. Hopefully he will bring more laurels to the state in the future as well,” said his father.
News Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com
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