Bhubaneswar: Body of Odia mountaineer Kalpana Dash — that was recovered from the Everest balcony and brought to the Base Camp-IV of the peak on May 28 – reached New Delhi today afternoon and it will be brought to Odisha tomorrow.
According to an official of the state’s Sports Department, the body will reach the Biju Patnaik International Airport here 7 am and then it will be taken to Kalinga Stadium where the public to pay their last respects between 9.45 and 10.45 am.
Kalpana’s body was supposed to reach Bhubaneswar tonight but the flight carrying her body from Kathmandu got delayed and reached Delhi airport too late. “The arrival rescheduled due to departure of Delhi-Bhubaneswar flight following delay in arrival of body from Kathmandu,” the official said.
According to her family sources, the body was flown to Delhi from Kathmandu following completion of formalities at the base camp, Lukla.
The body was handed over to a three-member team from Odisha, which includes Kalpana’s brother Pradip Dash on Friday night after completion of all paper works following postmortem at a hospital in Kathmandu.
The Odisha government is bearing the entire expenditure for bringing Kalpana’s body back to the state.
The casket carrying the body will be kept at Kalinga Stadium till 9.30 to 10 pm for the public to pay their last respects.
Notably, Kalpana, the first Odia to climb Mount Everest, died on May 23 while descending from the summit after successfully scaling Mount Everest for the second time. Her body was recovered May 28 and was transported to Kathmandu May 31.