[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 15 May: Ever since her brother and one of the most celebrated mountaineers of the state, Everester Tapi Mra, went missing along with his assistant Niku Dao while trying to conquer Mt Kyarii Satam in East Kameng district, Mra’s sister, Yatuk Mra Nilo, has been running from pillar to post to ensure that the government does not give up the search operation for her brother.
Hailing from remote Limeking circle in Upper Subansiri district, Nilo has been literally campaigning in Itanagar and Seppa for the last nine months to push for mounting a search operation for the two missing mountaineers.
Speaking to this daily, Nilo expressed deep sadness over “the failure of the state government to chalk out any concrete plan” to launch a search operation for Mra and his associate Niku Dao. Both Mra and Dao went missing in Mount Kyarii Satam in August 2022, when they were on a mission to climb the revered mountain. Their belongings were found two months later, in October, by a search and rescue team formed at the behest of the family.
Nilo said that the family is feeling very low at this juncture.
“The most painful part is that the state government has not told us how and when they are going to start the search operation. Mt Kyarii Satam has short openings for the climbers from July to August. We are now in the middle of May and still there is no plan. Time is running out,” she said.
She also shared that the family has submitted a list of 18 people, including two expert Sherpas from Nepal, to carry out search operation for the duo. “We have submitted an itinerary, list of equipment and names for the mission to the state government. I appeal to the state government to expedite the process,” she added.
Further, she urged the government to start work on clearing the route to Mt Kyarii Satam. “I stayed from 1 January to till 28 March in East Kameng district and from my own personal source managed to construct a foot track covering 40 percent of the total distance. Now the onus lies with the state government to complete the work on the remaining 60 percent at the earliest. Without constructing the route to Kyarii Satam, the search operation will not progress properly,” said Nilo.
She also expressed shock over the comment reportedly made by Sports & Youth Affairs Minister Mama Natung, alleging that the family prepared an “exorbitant detail project report (DPR) for construction of foot track to Mt Kyarii Satam.”
“He should come up with proof and show it to us. We have never prepared any DPR, nor do we know anything about this DPR. This slanderous statement of the minister has deeply hurt our sentiments,” said Nilo.
She also urged the state government to contact the Chinese government through the Centre. “There are possibilities of them venturing mistakenly into the Chinese side. This angle should also be probed. We have repeatedly urged the government to look into it, but the government has not given any proper reply to us,” she said.
Further, she alleged that the state government failed to keep the promise to provide Rs 10 lakhs to the family of Niku Dao, as promised during a meeting held on 7 November last year.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the youth affairs department informed that the chief secretary has fixed a meeting on the 18th of this month with all the stakeholders to decide the next phase of search and rescue operation for Mra and Dao.
In September 2022, the ground search operation was called off by the state government. The family later constituted a team led by Everest Tagit Sorang to carry out search and rescue operation. They managed to find the belongings, giving a ray of hope. However, the operation had to be cut short owing to deteriorating weather conditions in Mt Khyarii Satam.
