GUWAHATI: Assam Rock and Sports Climbing Association (ARSCA) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the ‘Axom Everest Day’ with a day-long programme held in the city today. The day started with mass jogging and later a commemorative meeting with the Everesters from the State was held at the Gauhati Town Club auditorium.
It was exactly 10 years ago when Tarun Saikia, first mountaineer from Assam, scaled Everest. Assam Rock and Sports Climbing Association has been celebrating the day as ‘Axom Everest Day’.
The mass jogging programme in the morning was attended by five time Everesters Anshu Jamsenpa and former international swimmer Elvis Ali Hazarika. The mass jogging was kicked off from Dighalipukhuri and culminated at the AEI playground, Chandmari.
The commemorative meeting witnessed the presence of five State Eversters along with the President and Working President of ARSCA Ramendra Narayan Kalita, who is also an MLA, and Partha Sarathi Mahanta respectively along with Diganta Borah, Commissioner of Police (Guwahati), Shhaurya Sharma, Deputy Director, Sports and Youth Welfare and others.
Sharing his story from the first day of preparation to scale Everest, Tarun Saikia said, “I have faced a lot of difficulties in every part of the expedition. In the first phase I had to run pillar to post to collect the funds which were required for the expedition. Later during the expedition also faced multiple problems that included harsh weather and refusal of sherpas to accompany during the final day of the expedition. But me and Manish Kumar Deka, the second Everesters from Assam, didn’t lose patience and always focussed to our job. Perhaps it was the reason we had finally succeeded in climbing Everest.”
It may be mentioned here that Tarun’s first attempt on May 16, 2013 was failed as they were forced to return to the camp because of harsh weather. Next day he took final attempt and created history, reaching the peak in the morning on May 18. Manish also scaled Everest a week later.
Apart from Tarun, today’s event was attended by Manish Kumar Deka and three other Everesters from Assam- Kharsing Teron, Nandadulal Das and Naba Kumar Phukan.
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