Everest conquerors rousing welcome in Hyderabad

• Everest conquerors, Malavath Purna and S Anand, reach Hyderabad on Sunday after their arduous mission
• A grand rally was arranged to welcome the heroes

Hyderabad: Malavath Purna (13) and S Anand (18), who landed in Hyderabad after completing the herculean task of conquering the world’s highest peak, Mt Everest were given a rousing welcome.

People from all walks of life came to receive the duo at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad, on Sunday. The heroes atop an open bus, took part in a grand rally which started from the airport and scores of people joined the rally. From Shamshabad, the rally proceeded to Aramgarh, Engine Bowli, Charminar, MJ Market, Gunpark, Babu Jagjivan Ram statue (LB Stadium). The rally halted at Dr BR Ambedkar Statue (Tank Bund). Purna, Anand and Dr RS Praveen Kumar, IPS who was the brain behind the whole expedition were felicitated by officials and members of Swaroes who came to Hyderabad from all parts of the state.

Malavath Purna, carved her name in history by becoming the youngest female climber to scale the magnificent Mt Everest. The duo reached the zenith at 6 am on May 25 after a 52-day long expedition.

Anand and Purna are both students of Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Educational Society. When the duo arrived at the terminal, people thronged to garland the heroes of the newly-formed Telangana state.

Tears of joy rolled down the cheeks of the parents who saw their wards after months. It was a happy reunion for the parents.

“We were afraid initially to send Purna to Everest. But we could not stop her after seeing her hard work and dedication. Along with us, the whole village is happy. She made us and the country proud,” shared, Laxmi Bai, mother of Purna who is a native of Pakala, Nizamabad.

“Anand was practicing very hard to achieve this feat. From Bhongir to Everest is not an easy task. His hard work and determination helped him to complete this unimaginable feat. My son brought great honour to us,” said an elated Kondal Rao, who works at a cycle shop in Kaliveru, Khammam.

Talking about the experience, an elated Anand said, “It was a difficult task. Hoisting our flag on the world’s highest peak was the proudest moment for us. I am proud to be an India.

The 18-year-old S Anand, an Intermediate student, accompanied Purna to Mt. Everest. “We had to face some drastic weather conditions. It was too cold, we were literally freezing. However, with the 10 commandments which we learnt helped us to accomplish this mammoth task,” he shares.

“It was the dream of Praveen sir that we should scale the Everest and we did it with blessing of everybody,” said Anand.