Vijayawada: With four more members of the 17-member Andhra Pradesh team reaching the summit of Mount Everest on May 16, 10 members of the team have now successfully scaled the world’s highest mountain.
Two of the successful summiteers are tribal students.
G. Chenna Rao, 25, from T. Narasapuram in West Godavari district completed the PET course and is waiting to get a job. His father expired in 2015 and his mother works as a daily laborer.
Sharing her joy with Deccan Chronicle, his sister Lakshmi said, “We have been spending sleepless nights with tension. We are happy that he finally reached his goal. He called me before he started for the summit and I broke into tears. He used to study well and always stood first in sports. We hope he will have a better future.”
Mothukuri Dharma Teja, 22, a third year B.Tech from Srirama-varam in West Godavari is a gold medal winner from JNTU in 100 meters. He comes from a farming family and was keen on adventure sports.
His brother Trinath says their parents were not happy with Teja’s decision to join the Everest expedition, but they are very excited now as so many people are calling to congratulate them. “The entire village is celebrating my brother’s achievement today,” he said.
Both Dharma Teja and Chenna Rao were supported by the AP youth services department.
Seelam Eeswaraiah, 19, a first year intermediate student at the tribal welfare college is a native of Silavakonda in Guntur district. His parents own a piece of land and also work as daily laborers. His father Kondalu was jubilant about his son’s achievement.
“Eeswaraiah is calm and shy but he is very committed to whatever he does. When he told us about his plans we accepted it as nothing in life comes easy,” he said.
Bodla Sagar, 19, a second year intermediate student from Vizianagaram also studied in the tribal welfare junior college. He too comes from a farming family.
The team was guided by the noted mountaineer and Tenzing Norgay awardee, Sekhar Babu Bachinepalli, who said that the lifestyle of tribal communities makes them good mountaineers. They are physically fit and able to adjust to rough weather conditions.
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