A day after city youngster Krushnaa Patil conquered the Mount Everest,the phone at her residence in Aundh has not stopped ringing. The family has become the cynosure of all eyes as friends,relatives and well-wishers came in droves. Krushnaas mother Ranjana Patil said she must have received over 250 calls from different parts of the state and the country. Many of them said they knew my daughter will bring glory. Krushnaa at 19 has become the first and the youngest Maharashtrian girl to conquer the peak. Krushnaa,who started the final span of the summit on Wednesday at 9 pm from Camp four 8,000 metres above the sea level conquered the 8,848-metre peak at 7 am on Thursday. The family had,before the expedition,approached a number of politicians,including Chief Minister Ashok Chavan,NCP chief Sharad Pawar,Suresh Kalmadi and former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh,for financial help. Krushnaa had also met President Pratibha Patil. The family had tried to approach Shah Rukh Khan as well,but unfortunately,they could not get his appointment, said Raja Gedam,Krushnaas uncle. Last week,a frustrated Ranjana had told this newspaper,While many had promised to fund my daughters expedition,the promises remained promises. Former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh had promised us a donation of Rs 1 lakh,but the political developments after the Mumbai terror attacks changed the picture. It was after their attempts to get financial help from the Government failed that Krushnaas father Madhav Patil took a loan of Rs 30 lakh from Saraswat Bank.
