Chennai: A 16-member team of Indian mountaineers carried a massive Indian tricolour to the summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, in Tanzania. The expedition was led by Chennai-based mountaineer N Muthamizhselvi, the first person from Tamil Nadu to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents.The expedition took place from July 4 to 8 and included participants aged between 6 and 61. The team carried the 120-kg flag to Uhuru Peak, Kilimanjaro’s 5,895-metre summit, with support from 10 local porters. “We reached the summit late at night. It was pitch dark, but we were excited that we made it to the top. We descended the next day and are leaving for India on Sunday,” Muthamizhselvi told TOI.The highlight of the expedition was the unfurling of what the team described as one of the largest Indian flags ever taken to a mountain summit. Measuring 80x120ft, or 9,600sqft, the flag was the central focus of the climb. “We usually carry a small Indian flag while scaling mountains, but this time the entire mission was to take this giant flag to the summit. The feat has been officially recorded by the UNICO World Record Book,” she said.The youngest participant, Sanvika Mohanraj, 6, from Coimbatore, had earlier scaled Everest Base Camp in April. The oldest member, Geetha Mohan, 61, joined the expedition despite having no prior mountaineering experience.The expedition presented several challenges. Though Kilimanjaro has snow-covered terrain, temperatures at the summit fell to minus 15 degrees Celsius. The team undertook the expedition under the slogan “One Flag, One Mission – Drug Free India.” Muthamizhselvi said the objective was to encourage young people to take up mountaineering, a sport that demands physical fitness, as a way to keep them away from drug abuse.The team also faced logistical issues before the expedition when they were initially denied permission to carry the 120-kg flag on their flight. Muthamizhselvi said BJP Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan helped by contacting Union govt officials, allowing the team to transport the tricolour on the same flight.
