MP woman mountaineer scales Mt Kilimanjaro

Madhya Pradesh based mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya on Sunday hoisted the Tricolour on Mount Kilimanjaro's Uhuru peak in Tanzania on the occasion of Diwali to spread the message of celebrating the festival of lights in an eco-friendly way and to reduce individual use of plastic.

At 5,895 metres or 19,340 feet above sea level, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa.

"Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya scaled Uhuru peak of Kilimanjaro on Sunday and gave the message of celebrating eco-friendly Diwali by placing an earthen lamp there," said Dr Rajesh Tripathi, Dehariya's mentor and chairman of the All India Council of Physical Education.

She also asked people to reduce the use of plastic and polythene on an individual level, Tripathi said on Monday.

"Bhawna started the trek from Tanzania on October 23 and began the final ascent from camp Kibo Hut at 12 midnight on October 27. She reached Uhuru peak at 7:43am on October 27," he informed.

He claimed the scaling of the peak in such a short time, of 7 hours and 43 minutes, is a record by an Indian woman.

Dehariya, who hails from Chhindwara district in MP and has a Masters in Physical Education from Bhopal, scaled the peak along with a guide from Tanzania, he said.

Dehariya had earlier climbed Mount Everest on May 22 this year, Tripathi said.