Kancha Sherpa, last surviving member of 1953 Everest expedition, passes away
Kancha Sherpa, the last living member of the 1953 Everest expedition of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, passed away at his residence in Nepal’s Kathmandu at the age of 92. As per the family, Ang Phurba ‘Kancha’ Sherpa breathed his last at around 2:00 AM on Thursday. He had spent his final days in his ancestral home in Namche Bazaar, the gateway to Everest. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the first successful summit of Mount Everest in 1953. The Nepali tourism industry mourns the loss of this historic and legendary figure. His absence leaves an irreplaceable void,” said Phur Gyalje Sherpa, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA). Born in 1932 in Namche, ‘Kancha’ Sherpa began his mountaineering journey at the age of 19, when he ran away from home to Darjeeling in search of work. There, he met Tenzing Norgay, who recognised him as the son of a fellow mountaineer from the 1952 Everest expedition from Tibet. Impressed by his dedication, Tenzing helped him join Sir Edmund Hillary’s 1953 expedition as one of 103 Sherpas, earning five rupees a day. Kancha Sherpa continued to work on mountaineering expeditions until 1973, when he retired at his wife’s request. He later worked with trekking groups, guiding trekkers through the Himalaya without venturing to extreme altitudes. Kanchha Sherpa did not reach the summit, but he played a crucial role in the expedition’s success. He climbed as far as the last camp, currently the South Summit. In a 2020 interview with Nepal’s state news agency, Rastriya Samachar Samiti, Kancha reminisced about the expedition’s early days. Sherpa had stated that the team had departed from Bhaktapur with 35 climbers and about 400 porters, who carried heavy loads on foot, in waves of 100 men per day. “There were no roads, no hotels- just trails and roasted corn to eat,” he recalled. The group took 16 days to reach Namche Bazaar. From there, only the climbers and local Sherpas continued, supported by yaks, reaching Everest Base Camp in another six days. Among their gear, Kancha said, were 25 bags filled solely with cash for expedition expenses. One of the biggest challenges was building the path to Camp 1. At the Khumbu Icefall, the team encountered a massive crevasse with no way to cross. “We had no ladders. So we hiked back to Namche, cut ten pine trees, carried them up, and made a wooden bridge,” Kancha had told the state news agency. He noted that at the time, Everest was not yet officially called Sagarmatha in Nepali- locals knew it as Chomolungma. After establishing Camp 4, Hillary and Tenzing continued their ascent. On May 29, 1953, around 1 p.m., a radio message confirmed their success. “We danced, hugged, and kissed. It was a moment of pure joy,” Kancha recalled.
Netanyahu ‘determined’ to pressure Hamas to find remaining dead hostages
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a memorial for victims of the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that he is “determined” to secure the return of the dead hostages still in Gaza, and that the country will continue to fight terrorism with “full force”. Benjamin Netanyahu made the comments hours after Hamas returned the bodies of two more hostages but said it was not able to access the remaining 19. There has been fury in Israel that Hamas has not returned all the bodies in line with last week’s Gaza ceasefire deal, though the US has downplayed the suggestion it amounts to a breach, reports an international media. Also on Thursday, Donald Trump signalled he was willing to see fighting resume if Hamas “continues to kill people”. Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli government confirmed that two bodies handed over by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday night had been identified as Inbar Hayman and Sgt Maj Muhammad al-Atarash. With this, the number of dead hostages returned since Monday has risen to nine out of 28. Meanwhile in Gaza, work is under way to identify the bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel in recent days in exchange for the hostages’ bodies. A further 30 were returned on Thursday, taking the total to 120.
Deepika Pandey Singh claims full public support for Mahagathbandhan in Bihar elections
Jharkhand Rural Development Minister and senior Congress leader Deepika Pandey Singh on Thursday asserted that the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) is receiving full public support in the Bihar Assembly elections, and based on this mandate, a majority government will be formed in the state. Singh claimed that the people of Bihar are fed up with the BJP and JD(U) rule, alleging attempts at voter manipulation by these parties. Singh said, “The public is aware of such tactics and is ready to bring a change in government. ” She added that despite claims of development by the NDA government led by BJP and JD(U), the ground reality reflects no significant progress. Rejecting any reports of disputes among Mahagathbandhan constituents, she emphasized that seat-sharing and candidate selection have been carried out with unity. “The people of Bihar desire change, and with their blessings, the Mahagathbandhan government is certain to form,” she said. Singh also expressed confidence over the upcoming Ghatsila Assembly bypoll in Jharkhand, stating that the alliance candidate is poised for a decisive victory.
Suvendu Adhikari demands ECI action
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari today sought attention of the Chief Election Commission of India that the West Bengal ruling party Trinamool Congress was brazenly violating the sanctity of the electoral process as several Booth Level Officers (BLOs) took part in the party meeting of the ruling party in Kharagpur in West Medinipur. “In a shameless display of political favoritism, several Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from the 224 Kharagpur Sadar constituency were spotted openly participating in a TMC party meeting, where they were proudly introduced by none other than TMC’s Paschim Medinipur district leader, Debasish Choudhary (alias Munmun). This is nothing short of a direct assault on the principles of free and fair elections,” Adhikari shared, naming the BLOs, on his X handle. Adhikari giving details of the BLOs said the booth No. 34: Anima Mukherjee, booth No. 35: M. Durga Rani, booth No. 36: Chandana Das Mohanti, booth No. 37: Ramanand Tewari, booth No. 38: Rabindranath, booth No. 39: R. Jyoti Lakshmi, booth No. 40: Dibakar Singh and booth No. 41: Malabika Mandal. The BJP leader alleged these BLOs, all of them school teachers, have been entrusted with the duty of ensuring impartiality at the grassroots level, but instead they were hobnobbing with TMC leaders openly.”How can we expect fair polls when BLOs are publicly aligning with the ruling party, potentially manipulating voter lists, intimidating opposition workers, and tilting the scales in TMC’s favor?,” the Nandigram MLA said. Adhikari demanded the ECI to immediately take cognizance of this violation and initiate stringent action and these BLOs put under suspension and barred from any involvement in the upcoming assembly elections. “These biased Officers must be suspended forthwith and barred from any involvement in the upcoming elections. A thorough investigation is warranted to uncover the full extent of TMC’s infiltration into the electoral machinery. Failure to act decisively will only embolden such corrupt practices and erode public faith in our democratic institutions,” the LoP said.
