Patna, Aug. 28: Squadron leader Nirupma Pandey, who hails from a village in Siwan district and was the first person from Bihar to scale Mount Everest, would be felicitated by the art culture and sports department on the occasion of National Sports Day, at a function at SK Memorial Hall tomorrow.
Nirupma was a member of the Indian Air Force’s mixed expedition team, which was flagged in April this year and scaled the world highest peak in May brining laurels to Bihar.
The art culture and sports department minister Sukhda Pandey told The Telegraph: “On the occasion of National Sports Day, the state government has been felicitating sports persons and this year 229 persons, including Nirupma, will be felicitated.”
The main function would be organised on Monday at SK Memorial Hall. Chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi would be present at the event.
August 29 is celebrated as the National Sports Day in dedication to Indian hockey legend Dhyan Chand, who was born on August 29, 1905 in Allahabad.
Pandey said apart from Nirupma, the sports persons, including Rajesh Choudhary, the Arjuna award winner in yacht and shooter Chandrashekhar Choudhary, would also be felicitated.
In this year’s khel samman, the prize money for players has increased from last year’s Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
The khel samman has been marred with controversies in the past as the state government awarding lesser known sports persons. During the Lalu-Rabri regime, the couple’s younger son Tejaswi Yadav was conferred with kirti samman, Bihar’s highest sports award, even though he had little contribution in sports.
Earlier Pandey had come to Moin-ul-Haq stadium to persuade Mritunjay Tiwari to break his two-day hunger strike. Tiwari, the president of Bihar Players’ Association, had been sitting on the hunger strike to press for several demands. He has been demanding a probe into the alleged largescale irregularities in the funds meant for promotion of sports at the panchayat levels. he accepted Pandey’s offer and called off his strike.
