New Delhi: Arunachal Pradesh mountaineer Taka Tamut has been selected for the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for the year 2019. It will be conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind in a virtual ceremony on 29 August.
A civil engineer, 27-year-old Tamut has been conferred the award for his achievements in adventure sports.
He had scaled the Mount Everest (8,848 metres) in 2018 without the help of sherpas, an ethnic group native to the mountainous regions of Nepal who assist in expeditions. Tamut was also part of teams that scaled the Mount Lhotse (8,510 metres) in 2017, Mount Mera (6,300 metres) in 2017 and Mount Stok Kangri (6,153 metres) in 2016.
In June 2019, he was part of a 15-member team that retrieved the bodies of 13 Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel who died in a AN-32 transporter aircraft crash. He was conferred the Arunachal Pradesh gold medal award and the AOC-IN-C medal by the IAF for taking part in the rescue operation.
Speaking to ThePrint, Tamut said he was thankful to his family and supporters for his achievements. Hailing from the remote Jomlo Mongku village in Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, Tamut said his parents and neighbours do not know much about the award.
The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award is regarded as one of the highest national awards for adventure sports in India. Conferred annually, it recognises achievements in the field of adventure on land, sea and air.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu Wednesday took to Twitter to congratulate Tamut.
Congratulations to Mountaineer Taka Tamut from #Arunachal on being selected for #TenzingNorgay National Adventure Award 2019.
Tamut, who scaled #MtEverest in 2018 had also successfully carried out 18-day arduous search operation of missing @IAF_MCC An-32 plane in July 2019. pic.twitter.com/RpRUv5dp8U
— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) August 26, 2020
When ThePrint spoke to him Wednesday, Tamut said he was in Arunachal Pradesh’s Itanagar to participate in the virtual dress rehearsal ceremony for the award function. He has been conferred the Tenzing Norgay award along with seven other recipients, including Colonel Sarfraz Singh, Anita Devi and Narender Singh.
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From an unemployed engineer to a national awardee
Tamut said he started mountaineering only five years ago, in 2015. He first did a basic mountaineering course from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, and then an advance mountaineering course from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling.
“I was unemployed after finishing my engineering from the ICFAI University in Tripura. As Arunachal is a hilly state, there is a lot of scope for mountaineering … so I thought of giving it a shot,” Tamut said.
His Mount Everest mission was crowdfunded by community members who collected nearly Rs 13 lakh to buy equipment and mountain gear for him.
Tamut has since made his mark in not just mountaineering expeditions but also in mountain biking challenges. He also took part in other rescue operations, including the one in the Jang waterfall in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam’s Bhairabkunda area, both in 2019.
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