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RAJEEV RAVIDAS

Kalimpong, Aug. 9: Enormous mental and physical effort — these were exactly the qualities displayed by local boy Manoj Dahal as he summitted Mount Everest.

Dahal, belonging to the 107th Battalion of the BSF posted in Delhi, was part of the six-member team of mountaineers of the border force, which scaled the highest peak on May 20. He became the first Everester from the subdivision.

Back home at Chivvo Bustee, 8 km from here, the 26-year-old, however, made light of his feat. “I was among the six who scaled the summit. We were literally on top of the world,” he said. The team spent around 30 minutes on the peak, marvelling at the snow-capped mountains. The expedition was flagged off on March 8 by Union home minister Shivraj Patil and flagged in on June 23.