Not too long ago, they, a group of thirty-nine Sikh pilgrims from Pakistan boarded their bus wending their way to India via the Wagah Border. 12 men, 8 women and 19 children came with dreams in their eyes and a prayer on their lips for a visit to the highest Sikh Shrine of Hemkund Sahib in the border district of Chamoli Garhwal.
7th August saw the batch checking into the Hemkund Gurudwara, at Lakshman Jhulla in Rishikesh. They were readying themselves for the journey to Ghaghariya. A five kms trek, almost at a 45 degree climb, would have brought them to edge of the crystal waters of Lokpal lake on the edge of which stands the shrine of Shri Hemkund Sahib, at 14000 feet,
Moments before they were to leave, the local authorities informed them that they could not go. Reason? Though they had the Hemkund Darshaant Visa, their visa permits them to travel up to Dehradun District and not District Chamoli where the shrine is located.
For two days, the pilgrims and the Gurudwara Shri Hemkund Sahib Trust, contact the Embassy in Delhi and concerned officials to rectify the error – but to no avail. This morning, heartbroken, the pilgrims turned around to take the long journey back home to Pakistan, while all their desires evaporated into thin air.
Speaking to team Newspost, Darshan Singh, the Manager of the Gurudwara, sounds morose: “It’s disheartening and disappointing. The young children were so excited about visiting the shrine. The older pilgrims could hardly believe their luck when they got their visas. But a bureaucratic blunder has put to rest their dreams of the pilgrimage of a lifetime!”
The bronze medals in Under-15 year and U-17 year age category were won by Vantage Hall Girls Residential School, Dehradun, and Wynberg Allen School, Mussoorie, respectively.
The proud Deputy Leader of the expedition, Yogesh Garbiyal tells us, “Sheetal was exceptional but we were clueless that this young girl would be creating history. Though I had an inkling that she would be the First Youngest Indian Woman to claim this feat, but to confirm the same, I sent a satellite message from Camp Four to check the status from the Himalayan Data Base and on our return, we all were pleasantly surprised, by her being not the only Indian but the Youngest Woman Mountaineer in the World to scale Mt. Kanchenjunga.”
A typical day in their lives begins at 8:30 in the morning as they ready to handle the behemoths of the modern age. They can and will give the best that they can through the day, come thunder, lightning or rain. Taking to Newspost, Media Manager for NIM Nayab Subedar Manoj Semwal briefs us, “While Youth Foundation is training a lot of the girls to qualify in the Army, some of them have been taken aboard for Kedarnath rehabilitation as well.” Manoj happily adds. “When Colonel Kotiyal put forward the proposal for women to help in the rehabilitation of the region, the girls were happy to volunteer. Keeping the inclement weather in mind, we short-listed thirteen able girls. For the past four years now, NIM and Youth Foundation has been working in the reconstruction of Kedarnath for which men and women are working as one to make it all happen.”
