Two Tata Steel employees to scale Mt Everest

Two employees of private steel major Tata Steel, including a woman will set off to conquer Mount Everest in the first week of April.

Hemant Gupta, an IITian from Mumbai who joined Tata Steel as a management trainee, but opted to work in Tata Steel Adventure programmes department since 2013, and a woman employee Payo Murmu, a Loco Traffic Ground staff in the Raw Material division of the company, would attempt to scale Mt Everest this summer, Chief of TSAF Bachendri Pal, the first woman conqueror of the world's highest peak said.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Pal, who was accompanied by the two climbers and Premlata Agarwal, the oldest woman and first woman from Jharkhand to climb Mt Everest in 2011, said the expedition would kick off on April 6 once Gupta and Murmu land in Lukla in Nepal.

"They are expected to reach the base camp on April 15 and then undergo five days trekking for acclimatisation before they start for the summit trekking," Pal, who just wrapped the all women 2,300 km great desert safari, said.

Pal has provided both Gupta and Murmu with adequate training and has monitored their progress herself over the past one year. Everesters of TSAF have provided Murmu extensive training from TSAF's base camp Kuflon near Uttarkashi for high altitude climbing and for withstanding cold conditions, Pal said adding, she would be going to Kathmandu to oversee the arrangements for the two candidates participating in the Everest expedition.

Appreciating Gupta and Murmu's dedication, Pal said Gupta was talented and Murmu, a mother of three sons including 24-year-old twins, lacked exposure till she was trained under TSAF. Gupta was also a part of Tata Relief Committee team that had provided relief work in flood lavished Uttarakhand couple of years ago. 

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