Sub Inspector Geeta Samota has become the first CISF personnel to conquer the world's tallest peak Mount Everest in the 56-year-long history of the force, a spokesperson said Tuesday. She summited the 8,849 m tall mountain on Monday.
"Geeta stood on the 'roof of the world', a triumphant moment symbolising not just a personal victory, but the incredible resilience and strength fostered within the CISF and the Indian nation," the spokesperson said in a statement.
The 35-year-old subordinate officer joined the paramilitary force in 2011 and is currently posted at the Udaipur airport unit of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The mountaineer hails from the Chak village in Rajasthan's Sikar district and had initially started as hockey player in her local college. Her upbringing was traditional in a house that had five daughters including her.
An injury led her to move away from hockey and upon joining the force she found CISF did not had a mountaineering team then and she saw an sporting and adventure opportunity here, the spokesperson said.
Samota went on to undertake specialised training in mountaineering and in 2019 she became the first woman from any Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to scale Mount Satopanth (7,075 meters) in Uttarakhand and Mount Lobuche (6,119 meters) in Nepal, he said.
In early 2021, the CAPF contingent for a Mount Everest expedition of which Geeta was part, was unfortunately called off due to technical reasons.
She then set an ambitious goal-- the "Seven Summits" challenge, which involves climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents.
Between 2021-2022, she summited four of these formidable peaks: Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) in Australia, Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in Russia, Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) in Tanzania and Mount Aconcagua (6,961 m) in Argentina.
The CISF official achieved this feat in a "remarkable" span of just six months and 27 days, making her the fastest Indian woman to do so, he said.
Samota, the spokesperson said, also became the first and fastest woman to climb five peaks in Ladakh's Rupshu region in just three days, including three peaks over 6,000 m and two over 5,000 m.
"The CISF director general and force members have extended their profound congratulations to Samota. Her extraordinary journey and successful summit, shine as a beacon of inspiration for the youth of India and stand as a moment of immense pride for the entire CAPFs fraternity," he said.
The about 2 lakh personnel strength force guards vital installations in the government and private domain including airports, nuclear power centres and historical monuments.
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