BSF man breaks own national record; scales Mt Everest for 7th time

DEHRADUN: Loveraj Singh Dharamshaktu, an assistant commandant at the Border Security Force (BSF) and native of Bona village of Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, has broken his national record by scaling Mount Everest (8848m) for the seventh time. He reached to the top at 7 o’clock on Sunday morning along with seven members of his team.

Dharamshaktu, Padma Shri awardee had become the first Indian to scale Everest for the sixth time last year on May 27. This year, he broke his own record.

Dharamshaktu told TOI on satellite phone, “Our team of seven members has successfully scaled Mt Everest at 7 in the morning. We had started at 10 in the night. Weather more or less cooperated with us.” He said that all the team members are in good physical condition. They would now return to camp 2 and would reach base camp on Monday afternoon.”

Sharing his joy, he said, “It is a divine and overwhelming experience to touch the peak of the Mt Everest once again and look around at the world of mighty peaks covered in the thick blanket of clouds from the top.”

He said that to enjoy this magical experience, he felt pulled towards Everest every time, not bothering about the extreme challenges and difficulties on the way.

He has been accorded Padma Shri for his five quests earlier in 2014. He first scaled Everest in 1998 following it up with similar feats in 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2016 successfully.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Dharamshaktu for his achievement.

The expedition was flagged off on March 20 by Union sports and youth affairs minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in New Delhi. The minister tweeted on the team’s success, “From being the desert scorpions to conquering the intimating snowy peaks, there is nothing a BSF jawan can’t do.”

Dharamshaktu is leading a team of 25 members, including 15 climbing members. Team A consisting of seven members led by Dharamshaktu has made to the summit. Second team lead by deputy commandant, Avinash Negi, will attempt it on Sunday night.

Inspector General of BSF, DK Upadhyaya said, “We are extremely proud of BSF team which scaled Mt Everest today. More so because team leader Loveraj Singh has broken another record by scaling the mountain for the seventh time. Hopefully, all the eight members of our second team too will successfully climb to Everest peak on Monday morning. BSF has reiterated its successful stint to Everest after 2006.”

He said that the team will also collect litter in bags and bring them down to the base camp.