First Bihari Nirupma Panday to Climb Mount Everest

                                                       
                                                     Squadron Leader Nirupma Panday 
                                                              1st, Bihari Munntaineer


PATNA: Squadron leader Nirupama Pandey, 30, who hails from village Jamo Jalalpur in Siwan district, has become the first person from Bihar to have scaled Mount Everest, unfurling the national tri-colour with much pride.
Nirupama was a member of Indian Air Force’s mixed expedition team which was flagged off by Air Marshal J N Burma on April 13, 2011, in New Delhi. , Nirupama said it was the most proud moment of her life when she hoisted national tri-colour atop Mount Everest summit on May 25, 2011. “My achievement has not only brought laurels to Indian Air Force,achievement to new eme but also to Bihar as I hail from the state. I attribute my rare rging Bihar,” she said, adding Bihar has now joined the league of 14 states from where people have climbed Mt Everest so far.
Nirupama, who preferred to climb from the south ridge route followed by Hillary and Tenzing in their first expedition in 1953, said she did so as she got permission easily from Nepal government. Otherwise, she would have preferred to climb Mount Everest from China side, from where climbing is less painstaking. “My next mission would be to climb Mount Everest from the east ridge route through which only a few people have climbed the Everest in the past,” she said.She got down from Mount Everest on June 5 along with other members of the expedition team. There were altogether 19 members in the team, including 11 women officers of the IAF.”Mountaineering and adventure have been a passion for me since early childhood. I started my mountaineering career in 2007 by undergoing rigorous training at Nehru Institute of Mountaineering located at Uttarkashi. My husband, Squadron leader Prakash Jha, who hails from Benipatti in Madhubani district, and other family members always supported me in my ventures,” she said. Nirupama got married to Prakash in August 2009. She said she did her schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya in Pune and graduation and MBA from Ness Wadia College, Pune. She joined Indian Air Force as flying officer in 2003 .

The lady who hails from Siwan, Nirupama wearing a sky-blue printed sari, climbed the steps of the stage to receive Ati Vishisht Khel Samman memento, citation and cash award of Rs 1 lakh from the CM. The audience in the auditorium roared in applause. Modi, accompanied by minister for food supply and consumer protection Shyam Rajak, sports and culture minister Sukhda Pandey, and officials watched the scene.Cheif Minister Nitish Kumar and Dy. CM Sushil Modi were also present at the occasion
The applause was not without reason, as compere Soma Chakravarty explained and a brief note on the back page of the souvenir released on the occasion stated: “Squadron Leader Nirupama Pandey, resident of village Jamo Jalalpur, Siwan, became the first Bihari person to unfurl the tricolour on the highest point of earth, Mount Everest (8,848 metres), on May 25, 2011.”