8-year-old Mangaluru boy becomes youngest from Gulf to summit Mount Kilimanjaro

News Network
August 12, 2022

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Mangaluru: Ayaan Saboor Mendon, an 8-year-old adventurer from Mangaluru has became the youngest person in the Gulf Cooperation Council to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The NRI boy, who is currently studying at the North London Collegiate School in Dubai, made history on August 4 as he unfurled the flags of UAE and India on top of the highest peak in Africa. 

It all started with the passion he inherited from his parents, Vani Mendon and Saboor Ahmed, who accompanied on the gruelling 7-day trek to the peak. It was a biting -10°C. The summit of Mount Kilimanjaro lies at 5895 metres above sea level. 

“We were preparing (to summit) Mount Elbrus before Covid. He tried convincing us to take him but he was just 6 then, which made it nearly impossible,” said Ayaan's mother. However, they promised to take him to another peak soon.

“I started my strength training two years ago to summit a peak," said the young adventurer. "It was a tough journey, but all I knew was I wanted to do it, and my parents supported me in it."

The family, along with guides and helpers, started their journey on July 28 and ascended to a height of 2000 metres to reach the first base camp. “I was all excited as I was undertaking an expedition nearly no children of my age are interested in. The moment we reached the first campsite after trekking for 5 hours, I was confident that I would summit the peak,” Ayaan said.

Vani said that they chose the Northern Circuit route which was much longer than the others. “This route has temperature variations. It was an 8-day trek as we wanted Ayaan’s body to get acclimatized to the climatic conditions and the geography there. So there was a gradual decrease in temperature and oxygen levels,” said Vani.

Ayaan was happy to see the animals, birds, and creatures that he watches on screens and in books. “We passed through the rain forest. I saw animals, birds, and plants. It was truly enchanting. I had a chance to experience different weather conditions- rain, fog, sunny and the extreme cold."

The trip was not without its challenges. Ayaan had to battle altitude sickness and harsh weather conditions. On day 6, the family reached the foothill of the peak, at an altitude of 4713 metres. “The temperature was over -15°C and things started getting worse from there,” said Vani. “We geared up for 10 hours of continuous steep trekking at 1.30 AM. By the time we reached Gilman’s point our bodies gave up and Ayaan was crying as his legs were frozen."

"We asked him if he wants to continue," she said. "All I could hear was, yes and 'I want to reach up there and see how the world looks from there'. We had to motivate him and boost his mental capacity,” added Vani.

It was around 10 am they reached Uhuru point - the highest at Mt Kilimanjaro. To celebrate their achievement, Ayaan and his parents unfurled both the UAE and Indian flags at the summit.

“I am very proud to have done this, and I want to thank my parents, my trainer Tariq and my teachers Chloe Taylor and Kate Rees, and the guides for playing a pivotal role, supporting me, and boosting my spirits,” said Ayaan.

He is proud of his accomplishment and says he hopes the climb will inspire other children to pursue their dreams. “My friends, Let's not be in 'cell', Let's return to mud, adventure, and being healthy," says a flag he held up.

The young climber says he was determined to reach the summit despite the challenges along the way and will continue his journey of climbing peaks. “I want to summit Mount Elbrus next,” said Ayaan.

“If this passion continues, I have plans to make him the youngest climber to summit the 14 highest peaks of the world in the shortest span of time - in 6 months, which will be the world record in both feats,” said Saboor.

The mother said that Ayaan has learned a lot from this expedition. “He had been training for this feat for nearly two years. He used to crib about going for swimming classes, strength training sessions. But now he is all ready for anything. He has realised that he is stronger than he thinks,” said Vani.

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News Network
March 7,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 7: Three days after he was washed away at Panambur beach in Mangaluru, a teenage boy’s decomposed mortal remains were discovered in the sea off the coast of Moosodi near Uppala in Kasaragod district of Kerala. 

The deceased is Likhit (18), a first-year PU student and resident of Porkodi. 

The identification was made based on the chain around the neck and innerwear. Fishermen from Uppala spotted the body floating in the sea and brought it ashore.

Following a post-mortem examination at the local hospital, Panambur police were notified and completed the necessary procedures before handing over the body to the family.

Likhit, along with four friends, had gone to Panambur beach for swimming on Sunday evening. Three were swept away by the massive waves. While the mortal remains of two were recovered on Monday, Likhit's body had remained untraceable. 

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News Network
March 12,2024

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The Congress on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Anantkumar Hegde's remark about amending the Constitution, asking whether he would take action against the BJP MP to demonstrate his commitment to the Constitution.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at the prime minister who is on a visit to Gujarat and Rajasthan and posed five questions to Modi.

"The prime minister is in Ahmedabad for the Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Project. While the prime minister is embracing the Mahatma for his political gains, will he commit to Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of non-violence, inclusivity, and equality?" he said in a post on X.

The Congress leader also asked whether PM Modi would take action against Anantkumar Hegde, the BJP MP from Karnataka, to demonstrate his personal commitment to the Constitution that he swore an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to.

Hegde, at a gathering at Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday, had said the BJP needed a two-third majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and 'set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress'.

In his posers to the prime minister, Ramesh also asked whether PM Modi would explain the 14 paper leaks that have occurred in Gujarat over the last seven years.

'The Congress has announced a comprehensive plan, 'Paper Leak se Mukti' under its Yuva Nyay guarantees to tackle the issue. How does the Prime Minister plan to address it?' he said.

Ramesh said on crucial indicators of development, Gujarat fares poorly compared to other states.

'Gujarat does worse on retention of students in higher secondary education and spends less on public education than poorer states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Gujarat currently ranks 10th among 20 major states in terms of its population living Below Poverty Line,' he said.

'Despite the prime minister's public posturing on 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', Gujarat ranks 15th out of 20 states in sex ratio. How does PM Modi reconcile the reality of Gujarat's socio-economic backwardness with the 'Gujarat Model' that he publicised in 2014 or the 'Double Engine' Sarkar model that he espouses today? the Congress leader said.

Ramesh said Prime Minister Modi will also visit Pokhran in Rajasthan, made famous exactly 50 years ago by Indira Gandhi as the site of India's first 'peaceful nuclear explosion', to celebrate India's indigenous defence capabilities which have incidentally been developed despite his best efforts.

'The share of expenditure on defence has fallen from 17.43 per cent of the Union Budget in FY19 to 13 per cent for FY25. As percentage of GDP, it has fallen from 2.13 per cent to 1.9 per cent between 2014 and 2024 - below the global standard of at least 2 per cent,' he said.

How does the prime minister intend to safeguard India's border or show China his 'Lal aankh' (red eye) without adequate expenditure on the armed forces, Ramesh asked.

'In the same vein, the prime minister has set up two committees in the last three years to investigate ways in which he can privatise or shut down the DRDO. The K VijayRaghavan committee has reportedly suggested that the DRDO's role be limited to research and development without being involved in developing prototypes or technology demonstrations,' he said.

'Instead, any production and further development would be done by selected private players. What is the prime minister's motivation in privatising defence research and development? Is it an attempt to bring his favoured industrialist friends into the industry through the backdoor?' Ramesh asked.

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News Network
March 7,2024

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Bengaluru: The BJP, which aims to secure significant victories in Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, may nominate two of its former Chief Ministers -- Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, both hailing from the dominant Lingayat community, considered the party's core vote-base. Providing indications about this, veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa said discussions have taken place regarding candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, including Bommai and Shettar, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the party's national president J P Nadda, but no final decision has been made.

Yediyurappa, a former Chief Minister and a member of the BJP's Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee, also hinted that the BJP may allocate two to three seats to its alliance partner JD(S) in Karnataka, with the final decision to be made by the party's national leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP leaders from various states are meeting Shah and Nadda ahead of the party's Central Election Committee, which includes Modi and other senior leaders, holding its second meeting later this week to finalize the party's candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The party has so far announced candidates for 195 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 543 across the country.

"Yesterday, Amit Shah ji, Nadda ji, and all of us together discussed candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats. Who should be given the ticket has not yet been finalized. All of that will be discussed with the Prime Minister, and we might get clarity in two to three days," Yediyurappa told reporters in the national capital. He added, "Everything has been discussed, but who will be given a ticket from where has not yet been finalized. Discussions have happened about Bommai and Jagadish Shettar."

Speculations are rife within the state BJP circles that Bommai, currently an MLA from Shiggaon, may be fielded from Haveri, with the party's sitting MP Shivakumar Udasi announcing retirement from electoral politics after the current term ends. Shettar may be fielded from Belgaum (Belagavi), currently represented by Mangala Angadi, the widow of former Union Minister of State Suresh Angadi. She won by a margin of over 5,000 votes in the 2021 bypolls against the Congress strongman Satish Jarkiholi when the seat fell vacant due to her husband's death.

BJP aims to replace Mangala with a strong candidate to retain the seat, and Shettar’s name is doing the rounds as he also happens to be a relative of the Angadi family and was the poll incharge of this seat during the bypoll. Shettar, who quit the BJP to join the Congress ahead of the state assembly polls last year after being denied the ticket, rejoined his old party in January. Both Bommai and Shettar are from the Lingayat community, which is considered the strong vote-base of the BJP in Karnataka. According to party sources, the community's "slight shift" away from the saffron party in the Assembly polls last year is said to be one of the major reasons for its defeat. Yediyurappa is also a Lingayat.

According to Yediyurappa, there will be another round of discussions with the BJP's central leadership on Thursday at which some decisions may be taken. He also expressed confidence about winning at least 25 seats, and noted that efforts are underway in this direction. Regarding the seats that will be given to JD(S), he said the decision made by Modi and Shah is final. "It is not yet finalized as to which seats will be given to them. Two to three seats may be given to them," he added.

BJP and JD(S) have held discussions on seat sharing, but there is no official announcement yet. As per available information, JD(S) may contest in three seats -- Mandya, Hassan, and Kolar. There may also be a possibility of a JD(S) candidate contesting on the BJP symbol, according to sources, and it is likely to be noted cardiac surgeon and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's son-in-law Dr. C N Manjunath from the Bangalore Rural segment, where sitting MP and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh is likely to be the Congress candidate once again. There is also pressure from party workers on Gowda's son -- former CM and JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy -- to contest from the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JD(S) sources added.

The BJP aims to repeat or surpass its 2019 Lok Sabha polls performance, when it swept the state, winning 25 out of the total 28 seats, and ensured the victory of a party-supported independent candidate in Mandya. The Congress and the JD(S), which were running a coalition government back then and fought the election together, each won just one seat. However, the political landscape has changed significantly; the Congress scored a resounding victory in the Assembly elections in May last year and now appears battle-ready, determined to put up a strong show in the Lok Sabha polls. It is also a role reversal of sorts for JD(S), which joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year and aims to prove that it is still a force to be reckoned with, particularly in South Karnataka.

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