Everest climber Kalpana Das gets warm welcome in Orissa

Bhubaneshwar, June 8 : A daring woman, Kalpana Das had a warm welcome here when she returned home after scaling Mount Everest, as it made her first woman in Orissa to achieve such a feat.

Kalpana scaled the world's highest peak on May 21, along with 20 other Indian climbers.

Hailing from Dhenkanal District in Orissa, this 38-year-old woman who is also a lawyer, always cherished a dream of climbing Mount Everest since her childhood.

Family and friends greeted Kalpana with flowers as she wept with joy.

She faced a lot of difficulties during the course of the expedition, but her grit and determination kept her going.

Crediting her achievement to the wishes of her well-wishers, Kalpana, who fell ill after coming down from the Everest, expressed a desire to again attempt it.

"It is due to God's mercy and the best wishes of my family that I was able to scale Everest and returned safely. I'm happy and am keen to attempt climbing it again," she said.

It was Kalpana's third attempt at the expedition, as she could not complete her trek to Everest on earlier two occasions due to bad health and unfavorable weather conditions.

ANI