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.
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.
So much respect!