On the 10th of February, we saw news of the heroic Aparna Kumar, DIG, Indian Police (of Sector HQ, ITBP, Chamoli) leading the rescue ops for the glacier burst that took place in Uttarakhand a couple of days ago. Clearly, she deserves all the appreciation and applause in the world, so let’s take a better look into who Aparna Kumar is.
First of all, this is not the first time she has received recognition for her valour. Back in 2019, Aparna Kumar became the first IPS officer to complete the Seven Summit challenge by scaling Mt Denali, the highest peak in North America. And she is also the first female IPS DIG and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer to have successfully completed the South Pole expedition.
As if these instances weren’t already impressive on their own, we’ve only just begun talking about the mountaineering expeditions she’s embarked on and returned triumphant from. In 2014, she had scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Carstensz Pyramid peak, Australia, in 2015, she scaled Mount Elbrus and Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. Later, in 2016 after two attempts, she went on to scale Mount Everest.
A proud moment for our police forces as Ms Aparna Kumar becomes the first female IPS officer to scale Mount Everest. pic.twitter.com/rPqaTF8cOs
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 21, 2016
So, as you can see, we’re pretty darn lucky to be existing simultaneously with someone so determined and brave! Aparna Kumar’s earlier years of life encompassed of her graduating from NLSIU Bangalore, in 1999, and the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 2002. Also, she was given the government’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, 2018 by the President of India for her mountaineering achievements.
With so many grand prizes and accomplishments in her pocket, we can see why people on the internet are raving about her so much. Here is some of the love and recognition she’s received from people everywhere.
Bravo 🙌🏼 and salute to @ITBP_official DIG #AparnaKumar and the entire rescue operations team for your efforts in the rescue of workers struck inside #TapovanTunnel . Loved the interview @BDUTT – how calm and confident Aparna Kumar sounded in the interview- power to her n her team https://t.co/wpmABKhSmE
— Ruchi Angrish (She/Her) (@RuchiAngrish) February 9, 2021
From Tapovan and Rishi ganga DIG Aparna Kumar @ITBP_official leading from the front speaks to me for @themojostory. News is grim.
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) February 8, 2021
She says “Rishi ganga totally washed away, 32 missing & at Tapovan, 121 missing.”-that ground report up soon. Salutes to ITPB #UttarakhandDisaster pic.twitter.com/eqgAUjJOaZ
A big salute to all the heroes involved in the rescue operation and prayers to the victims still waiting to be pulled out…!! The mountains are an ecologically sensitive region, definitely we need to be very cautious with how we deal with it.
— Anuradha Desikan (@AnuradhaDesikan) February 9, 2021
World fame mountaineer DIG @itbp Dehradun Aparna kumar (IPS) will be supervising the rescue operation from today. #ITBP pic.twitter.com/HeKevwiCGA
— Upmita Vajpai (@upmita) February 8, 2021
Yes! we know this courageous strong lady officer for her out standing mountaineering achievements, now she has proved that her experience and training in mountaineering is going to help and save the countrymen in this devastating disaster. Once again salute to DIG Aparna Kumar,
— S.K.Yadav (@skyadav_yadav) February 9, 2021
So much respect!