Kanchha Sherpa, last surviving member of pioneering Mount Everest expedition, dies at 92
Kathmandu (AP): Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the mountaineering expedition team that first conquered Mount Everest, died early Thursday, according to the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Kanchha died at age 92 at his home in Kapan in the Kathmandu district of Nepal, confirmed Phur Gelje Sherpa, the association president.
“He passed away peacefully at his residence,” Phur Gelje Sherpa told The Associated Press, adding that he had been unwell for some time. “A chapter of the mountaineering history has vanished with him.”
Last rites will be held Monday, he said.
Kanchha Sherpa was among the 35 members of the team that put New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay atop the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak on May 29, 1953.
A mountain guide for most of his life, he was one of three Sherpas to reach the final camp before the summit with Hillary and Tenzing.
But he never climbed to the summit of Everest himself, as his wife considered it too risky, he said in a March 2024 interview. He forbade his children from becoming mountaineers.
Well-liked and widely respected in the climbing community, Kanchha “was full of energy, and even after retiring and in his old age, he was trekking to monasteries all over the Everest region for religious ceremonies,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Kanchha was born in 1933 in the village of Namche in the Everest foothills, when most members of Nepal's Sherpa community earned their livings farming potatoes and herding yaks.
He spent his childhood and young adult years earning a meagre living through trading potatoes in neighbouring Tibet. When he and several friends later visited Darjeeling, India, he was persuaded to train for mountain climbing, and he began working with foreign trekkers.
He began mountaineering when he was 19 and remained active in the expedition sector until the age of 50.
In 1953, his father's friendship with Tenzing Norgay helped Kanchha secure a job as a high-altitude porter for Tenzing and New Zealander Edmund Hillary when they made the world's first summit of Everest.
He was one of three Sherpas who reached the last camp below the summit, above the 7,900-metre-high (26,000-foot-high) South Col.
They first heard of the successful ascent on the radio and were reunited with the summit duo back at Camp 2, at around 6,400 metres (21,000 feet).
“We all gathered at Camp 2 but there was no alcohol so we celebrated with tea and snacks,” he said. “We then collected whatever we could and carried it to base camp.”
Kanchha made other Everest climbs over the years, reaching various altitudes.
The route they opened from the base camp to the summit is still used by climbers. Only the section from the base camp to Camp 1 over the unstable Khumbu Icefall changes every year. But late in life, Kanchha had mixed feelings about the mountain's fate as an adventure tourism destination.
In an interview with The Associated Press in March 2024, he expressed concerns about overcrowding and filth at the world's highest peak. He urged people to respect the mountain, revered as the mother goddess Qomolangma among the Sherpas, Himalayan people renowned as mountaineering guides.
“It would be better for the mountain to reduce the number of climbers,” he said.
“Qomolangma is the biggest god for the Sherpas,” Kanchaa added. “But people smoke and eat meat and throw them on the mountain.”
Kanchha's father was also a mountaineer and joined an unsuccessful Everest expedition from the Tibetan side a few years before the 1953 conquest of the peak, according to Kanchha's son-in-law, Nawang Samden Sherpa.
In 2013, Kanchha was honoured by the Nepalese government during the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest, joining relatives of Tenzing and Hillary in a chariot that was driven around the capital of Kathmandu.
In his retirement, Kanchha lived in Namche, where the family runs a small hotel catering to trekkers and climbers.
Kanchha Sherpa is survived by his wife, four sons, two daughters and grandchildren.
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Kerala not a drug hub, says DGP; Over 30,000 cases registered in 'D-Hunt' drive
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Police chief Ravada Chandrasekhar has said more than 30,000 drug-related cases were registered in the state last year as part of the government's ongoing 'D-Hunt' drive against drug abuse and trafficking.
In an interview with PTI Videos, the Director General of Police dismissed allegations that Kerala has become a drug hub. The police chief said the higher number of cases reflects stronger detection, not increased drug activity.
Speaking on the 'D-Hunt' campaign, he said it is a coordinated effort by the police and excise departments to crack down on both the supply and demand sides of the drug trade.
Chandrasekhar did not rule out a shift towards synthetic drugs, saying there were clear signs of rising demand.
"The shift towards synthetic drugs is a great possibility, as we regularly seize MDMA. That shows there is an increase in demand. We are addressing it, and we are taking very strong action," Chandrasekhar said.
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The DGP said the police force is giving greater importance to prevention, with awareness programmes organised across the state with community support.
"Our main aim is to reduce the demand side. We are organising various programmes with the help of Student Police Cadets, Janamaithri police and strong community participation," he said.
Highlighting a new initiative, he said the police had launched PODA (Prevention of Drug Abuse) in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Young India chapter in Thiruvananthapuram.
"Twenty-one companies have come forward and more than 1,000 employees have voluntarily declared they will not use drugs and are ready for random checks. It is a very good initiative," he said, adding that the programme would be expanded across the state.
On enforcement, Chandrasekhar said the police have made major commercial quantity seizures, tightening pressure on drug suppliers and traffickers.
"In all commercial quantity cases, we invoke provisions of the Preventive Detention Act and also forfeit their properties. This sends a strong message to major suppliers," he said.
Dismissing allegations that Kerala has become a drug hub, Chandrasekhar said, "The allegation is unfounded. There is definitely an increase in detection of cases, which means officers are working very hard to identify and take legal action."
The police chief also said that during a special drive on Tuesday, police detained more than 1,200 people, including hundreds against whom warrants were pending.
He said the operation was conducted in the backdrop of the recent Thiruvalla parlour attack, where a woman was assaulted in broad daylight.
"We will continue such drives to take action against criminal elements and enforce preventive custody. These drives will be intensified as the state is heading for elections," Chandrasekhar added.
Chandrasekhar said the Kerala Police largely perform their duties well and receive widespread appreciation from the public, with only a few stray cases of misconduct reported.
The police chief said that in a force of around 60,000 personnel, who interact with 10,000 to 15,000 people every day, only one or two cases of aberrant behaviour come to notice, and strict action is taken in such instances.
"We have 60,000-odd police personnel. There may be a few troublemakers. Every day we touch 10,000 to 15,000 lives either directly or indirectly. One or two small aberrant behaviours come to our notice and we definitely take note of them and take appropriate action against the officers or personnel involved," the DGP said.
He said that overall, the Kerala Police have earned praise for their conduct, citing their role during major events.
"Generally, Kerala Police get a lot of kudos for good behaviour. You have seen it during the Sabarimala season, during the local body elections. In all these areas, police officers conducted themselves extremely well, and their hard work has actually earned us praise," Chandrasekhar said.
The DGP said police personnel have been clearly instructed to behave respectfully with the public, especially with those who approach police stations seeking help.
"My directive to policemen is that we should conduct ourselves with utmost restraint. Behaviour should be the standard norm and we would like to encourage that. I urge my colleagues to do the same and I request the public to support the police so that we can give better service," he said.
He said there is a strong emphasis on mutual respect between the police and the public.
"Anybody coming to a police station should be handled with respect, and all interactions with the public have to be very cordial. Police are public, and public are police. We need to respect each other. Kerala Police is a professional force and we act as per the law," the DGP said.
