Fake mountaineers emerge after Purna’s success

Fake mountaineers emerge after Purna’s success
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Highlights

Post Purna’s mountaineering success, several fake mountaineers seem to have sprung up to climb the ladder of success by taking people for a ride and asking for donations. The Adventure Club of Telangana State (ACTS) warns people from being carried away by persons claiming to have scaled mountains who ask for donations.

Post Purna’s mountaineering success, several fake mountaineers seem to have sprung up to climb the ladder of success by taking people for a ride and asking for donations. The Adventure Club of Telangana State (ACTS) warns people from being carried away by persons claiming to have scaled mountains who ask for donations.

K Ranga Rao, ex-officio member, Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) says, “After 13-year-old M Purna and S Anand Kumar scaled Mount Everest in the month of May 2014, many parents started approaching ministers, politicians and businessmen for donations for their wards.” He added, “Some are posing themselves as trainers and are also claiming that their wards scaled several peaks without any authenticity.”

Kiran, chief instructor, ACTS says, “After the Telangana government announced a good sum to Purna many parents are projecting their children. There is nothing wrong in encouraging their children to take up mountaineering but to claim that they scaled several peaks and asking for donations is not correct,”

Ranga Rao on Monday alleged that one S Krishna Rao has been collecting funds from several business establishments and is approaching politicians. He says, “Krishna Rao claims that his daughter Jhanavi was appointed as the official ambassador for Khailash Mansarovar yatra by the Government of Nepal and that she is appointed by the Royal Nepal Holidays as the youngest guide. Both are incorrect and we have proof that he is lying.”

The officials at ACTS argue there are 16,000 peaks in India from 15,000 ft to 27,000 ft and quite a few that are just 1500 ft to 1700 ft less than the Mount Everest. The question that they have is Why Indians aren’t interested in scaling Indian peaks while several foreigners are? Ranga Rao spoke about Poodata Neelima, the techie from Hyderabad who went missing after an avalanche in April 2015 near Mount Everest and said,

“She had not reached the base camp and was found in a village close to the base camp. Scaling a peak and just reaching a base camp are two different things. Anyone even on a vehicle can reach a base camp.” The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation has a code of ethics and no expedition is termed a success unless it is certified by them says Ranga Rao

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