Bhubaneswar: Swarnalata Dalai, a 20-year-old tribal girl from Odisha's Kalinganagar is all set for her Mount Everest expedition in the coming week.
Her expedition is being sponsored by Tata Steel and being organised by Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF).
"I am very excited to be a part of the Mount Everest expedition. I am grateful to our state government, Tata Steel and Tata Steel Adventure Foundation for placing their trust and confidence in me by providing such a huge opportunity," said Swarnalata Dalai, the young mountaineer from Jajpur.
TSAF regularly conducts various trekking programmes and expeditions to peaks across the world. One such annual event is the prestigious Mount Everest Expedition.
For "Mission Everest 2018", three candidates Swarnalata Dalai, Poonam from Uttarakhand and Sandeep Toliya working with TSAF, trained under Bachendri Pal, Chief, Adventure Programmes, have been selected by the Foundation to participate in the expedition.
The three intrepid adventurers will be leaving Delhi on March 27 to Kathmandu for their Everest Mission.
Swarnalata Dalai from Odisha was spotted by TSAF for her mountaineering skills and excellent performance while participating in the 1st edition of Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition.
In 2017, Swarnalata had participated in Mt. Rudugaira Expedition under the Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition. She also participated in few other expeditions like the Roopkund Trek in Garhwal, one of the toughest treks and the Indian Women's Gokyo - Everest Grand Circle Expedition, which helped her to get selected in the Mt. Everest Expedition 2018.
"We are proud of Swarnalata and would like to congratulate her for being selected in the team to trek Mount Everest," said Chanchal Rana, of Department of Sports and Youth Services, Odisha.
He said the Odisha Government is committed to promoting adventure programmes among the rural populace of the state.
"We at Tata Steel would like to thank the Odisha governament for providing us with continuous support for promoting sports in the state. We hope the selection of Swarnalata Dalai will further encourage the youngsters of Odisha," said Manikanta Naik, Chief Resident Executive, Tata Steel, Bhubaneswar.