The Chandigarh Chapter of The Company of Master Mariners of India (CMMI) honoured IAS officer Ravindra Kumar at CII on Friday for his feat of conquering the highest peak in the world. K K Sharma,Advisor to the Administrator of UT Chandigarh was the chief guest on the occasion and complimented Kumar for his achievement. Ravindra Kumar,a 2011 batch IAS officer of Sikkim cadre,apart from working as Sub -Divisional Magistrate at Namchi,Sikkim,is also a mountaineer who became the first Indian administrative officer to climb the Mt. Everest on May 19,2013. Kumar,who hails from Bihar,in 2002 joined an Italian shipping firm,Finaval Spa,before becoming part of Indian Administrative Service. Talking about the motivation to go for mountaineering expeditions and climbing Mt. Everest,he said, When I learnt it was with the help of local mountaineers that Sikkim administration could reach to the victims after an earthquake hit the state on 18th September 2011,I realized if I want to deliver service to the people,I need to learn mountaineering. When asked what next after climbing Everest,Kumar said,Given a chance,I would love to climb Everest again. However,first I would love to go to Antarctica. I have already covered all oceans and all continents except Antarctica during my last stint in shipping. The first step towards his journey to Everest was getting sponsorship by becoming a part of the Sikkim government-sponsored expedition team. After many efforts,he was included in the seven- member expedition team. However,the expedition was was postponed at the last moment. Kumar was disappointed as he thought he might not get a chance to climb Everest later. However,with help from his seniors,he got a quick loan to pay for the expedition through a private agency.
