Man who scaled Mount Everest sells fruits and vegetables to repay loan

Ram Lal atop mount everest (left) and selling vegetables to repay his loan (right).

Ram Lal, a young man from the Tohana town in the Fatehabad district, hoisted the India Tricolour at the world’s highest peak in Nepal in May this year. However, he is yet to receive the ‘assured’ cash award of Rs 5 lakh by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Ram Lal, who is only 24, is now being forced to sell fruits and vegetables as a roadside vendor to fend for his family and take care of his bedridden father.

He is the eldest of three siblings, a graduate in sports science and a diploma holder in physical education. Ram Lal has been offered financial aid from a few NGOs along with support from Vinay Verma, a Tohana resident, who trained Lal in mountaineering.

“I received financial support from local NGOs and a few individuals like Devinder Babli. Apart from that, I had availed of a loan to manage my household expenses and for my father’s treatment.

“I am not selling vegetables on this cart to embarrass anyone, but to feed my family and repay the loan,” Ram said.

Financial pressure and the desperation to feed his family has led Ram to knock on the doors of a few local MLAs and Haryana minister Paramvir Singh and Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar for help, but the effort went to vain.

“I am not asking for anything extra. I just want to be treated like other mountaineers who had successfully climbed Mt Everest earlier,” he said.

Another Mout Everest climber, Mamta Sodha was appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of police and was awarded Rs 21 lakh for her achievement.

According to Varma, they would have not approached the MLAs and other state government officials to help Ram, but it was the felicitation of Mamta Sodha that triggered them.

“Not just Mamta, the state government has also honoured another couple from Haryana that had climbed the peak. Since the government has a policy, Ram too should get his due,” Vinay argued.

On contact, Haryana director general of sports and youth affairs, Sudhir Rajpal, said that the verification process for the disbursal of cash award to Ram Lal was underway.

“So far as a recommendation for employment is concerned, this policy is for medal winners of competitive sports. We will ask Fatehabad’s district sports officer to speak to Ram,” Rajpal added.