Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh mountaineer Taka Tamut who helped the Indian Air Force (IAF) in its rescue operations of the AN-32 aircraft that crashed in the state in 2019, has been conferred with the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award-2019, the highest adventure sports honour of the country.
Union Sports minister Anurag Singh Thakur physically handed over the award to Tamut and other winners during a function at the national capital on Monday.
Tamut, who had also scaled Mount Everest in 2018 without the help of Sherpas, won the award in the land adventure category.
A native of Jomlo Mongku village in Arunachal’s Siang district, Tamut was one of the 15 members that undertook an 18-day mission in June 2019 to retrieve the bodies of 13 air warriors from the mishap site in Siang district.
On June 03, 2019, an Antonov An-32 transport aircraft of the IAF, enroute from Jorhat in Assam to Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh lost contact with ground control about 33 minutes after takeoff. There were 13 people on board.
After a week-long search operation, the wreckage was found near Pari hills, close to Gatte village, in Arunachal Pradesh at an elevation of 12,000 feet.
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu took to twitter to congratulate the Everester.
“Congratulations Everester Taka Tamut Ji for adding another feather in your cap. We are proud of you on receiving ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award-2019’. Hon Union Sports Minister Shri @ianuragthakur Ji handed over the trophy yesterday. My best wishes for more success,” the chief minister said in a tweet.
The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards, is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest along with Edmund Hillary in 1953.
Conferred annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the recipients of the award are honored for their achievements in the field of adventure activities on land, sea and air.
It may be mentioned here that the awards for the year 2019 were conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind in a virtual ceremony on August 29 last year.
While the winners had already received the cash prize, they were not able to collect the citations and trophies as the event was held virtually amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
