May 16: A 10-member expedition team of the Nepalese Army including five Sherpas successfully scaled Mt Everest on Monday. The team led by Lieutenant Colonel Kishore Adhikari climbed the peak under the Clean Mountain Campaign, 2023 launched by the NA.

According to Brigadier General Krishna Prasad Bhandari, spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, this is the second successful ascent of Mt Everest by Lt Col Adhikari.

“He had climbed Everest a long time ago when he was a captain,” said Brigadier General Bhandari, adding, “Twenty eight Nepalese Army personnel have successfully climbed Everest till date.”

The army’s cleanup campaign aims to collect wastes from four peaks including Everest and Lhotse.    
Other members of the team that successfully scaled Everest on Monday were Captain Bishnubal Rai, Captain Dipendra Singh Khatri, Lance Corporal Kishore Jabegu and Corporal Shankar Kunwar who reached the top of the peak at 10: 05 am on Monday, according to NA Directorate of Public Relations and Information.    
Along with the team, five Sherpas also reached the top of the world's highest peak. Prior to this, the team successfully climbed Mount Annapurna.    
The campaign was launched on March 28 with Army Chief Prabhu Ram Sharma handing the 'Flag of Ceremony' to the team amidst a programme at the NA headquarters in Bhadrakali, Kathmandu.    
During the Campaign, the NA aims to gather around 35,000 kilograms of solid wastes from four peaks: Everest, Lhoste, Baruntse and Annapurna. So far, 32,311 kilos of waste has been collected. The Campaign will conclude on June 5 coinciding with the World Environment Day, the NA directorate said. – (With inputs from  RSS)