M A I N   N E W S

Job hunt tires Haryana’s Everest climber
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Tale of woes n Still has a loan of Rs 15 lakh to repay from the Everest expedition n Declined offers of two expeditions since her return from the Everest for want of sponsorships n Has met Chief Minister seeking a job like other Everest climber Mamta Sodha n Mamta was offered a cash reward and a post of DSP in the Haryana Police n Sunita says a year has gone by and hasn’t heard from the government

Chandigarh, April 5
A debt of Rs 15 lakh to repay, an uncertain future staring her in the face and a dream that disintegrates with every opportunity lost for want of money — that’s all Sunita’s life has been since the euphoria around her feat of scaling Mount Everest died down.

The 26-year-old, from a low middle-class Gujjar family of Gujjarmajri village in Rewari, now spends her day helping her mother with household chores. “The only thing I ever wished as a child was to climb mountains. The thrill of conquering the Everest was unparallelled as I stood at the top on May 20, 2011.

The joy was shortlived because there is no money to fund expeditions to other peaks,” says Sunita. Having turned down offers of two expeditions since her return from the Everest for want of sponsorships, Sunita is gradually reconciling to her fate. “My father retired as a BSF Inspector and has a loan of Rs 15 lakh to repay. He never really favoured mountaineering, but I refused to pursue postgraduation and turned down marriage because I wanted to scale the Everest,” she says.

The desire to stand atop the Everest took wings for her as a little girl who climbed mountains in her grandmother’s village. “I grew up watching National Geographic channel and my interest deepened. After completing my BSc, I enrolled for mountaineering courses despite resistance from my father,” she says.

When the opportunity to be a part of a team for the Everest came, the Rs 25 lakh cost was a put-off. “The villagers thought I was mad and so were my parents for taking a loan to fund my trip when they should spend money on marrying me off. My father, however, had realised I just would not settle for anything less and arranged the loan. After the expedition, I came back to a rousing welcome and the very people who ridiculed me patted me for my achievement,” Sunita says.

However, since then she has met CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and given representations seeking a job like other Everest climber Mamta Sodha who was offered a cash reward and a post of DSP in the Haryana Police. “They keep saying they will do something but a year has gone by and we haven’t heard from the government,” Sunita rues.

INLD MLA Abhey Singh Chautala said, “If the government gives a job to an individual for a particular achievement, it cannot overlook the claims of others on the same footing. This is unjust, needs rectification and amounts to playing politics with sports.”