Mountain of debt bogs down Everesters

KOLKATA: Such is the call of the mountains that Rajib Bhattacharyya, 38, and Dipankar Ghosh, 45, didn`t think twice before borrowing money for their Everest expedition. But when they finally return home by May-end, they will be carrying on their shoulders, apart from the title of being Everest conquerors, a huge debt burden.
Bhattacharyya is from Baranagar in North-24 Parganas and owns a confectionary outlet near Dakshineswar Temple, while Ghosh, a resident of Belanagar in Hooghly runs a small business in supplying office stationery.
"The total expense for the expedition came to nearly Rs 30 lakh. Members of Bhadrakali Padatik and Angan Chhariye pitched in with whatever they could. School-goers also pooled their tiffin money and handed it over for the expedition. But this formed only a tiny portion of the sum that was required. Bhattacharyya and Ghosh arranged for the bulk of the sum through loans," said Soumya Mukherjee, co-ordinator of the expedition.
Mukherjee and a few others were also supposed to accompany the duo up to the base camp but opted out as funds were limited.
"We had approached several corporate houses for sponsorship but nobody was ready to help out. It was the time of elections in the state and nobody really believed that the two would manage to summit the peak. Even we started having our doubts after they had to retrace their steps from summit camp due to inclement weather. It was their hard work that paid off in the end. For the last one year, they have been working on their fitness. This and their mental strength enabled them to make yet another attempt when the weather had cleared a bit," Mukherjee said.
The two are expected to reach the base camp on Monday and rest there for a couple of days. From there, they would go down to Kathmandu to complete some formalities. Family and friends expect them to finally reach Kolkata around May 31.
"Due to the paucity of funds, the two couldn`t even purchase any gear except for sleeping bags. The remaining items were provided by suppliers in Kathmandu. They will return only with their sleeping bags and lots of fond memories," said another member of Bhadrakali Padatik.
According to Mukherjee, a formal request for sponsorship was made to the state sports department well in advance. Nobody knows the fate of the file as the election process started soon after. "We can only hope that somebody pays notice to the file and offers them some financial support. Otherwise, they would be spending a large part of their remaining lives repaying the loans they took. After all, Debasish Biswas and Basanta Singha Roy also received some support from the state government after their successful Everest climb in 2010," he said.