Children of pourakarmikas, elephant caretakers celebrate May Day at summit of Mt Kuari Top

Mysuru: Children of pourakarmikas (civic workers) of Mysuru city and elephant caretakers celebrated ‘May Day’ at the summit of Mt Kuari Top, at an altitude of 13,990 feet in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand in the Himalayas, under project Junoon 2025.

However, the mood of the trekkers, led by Mysuru-based Tiger Adventure Foundation (TAF) was somber and their parents were apprehensive, following the Pahalgam terrorist attack on tourists on April 22, that claimed 26 lives, pushing the entire nation into a state of mourning.

V Jayabala, a mahout from Hunsur forest division, recalled, “The spirits were pulled up by D S D Solanki of TAF, as he explained the essence of the project and assured that the place that we were heading to was safe.”

Namrata Shenoy of Mysuru-based Diya Foundation said, "The Junoon team of 24 people, included eight children of pourakarmikas, two mahouts, two forest beat guards, two girls sponsored by Shaswath Seva Samaj (SSS) School, three general boys from Mysuru and Bengaluru, four housewives, and three organisers. The team was led by A Anil Kumar, a lecturer of Marimallappa’s PU College, with Devendra Tiwari of Ujjain as his deputy."

Junoon was supported by Ladies Circle India, Diya Foundation and around 175 individuals from across the globe. It looks like a first ever summit of mahouts, Forest beat guards and pourakarmika children,” said Solanki, the main organiser.

“On April 27, we reported to Tugasi Base camp near Joshimutt Block. After acclimatisation, we trekked to the Guling and Khullar Summit Base Camp. On the first day itself, I had a nasal block. Initially, it was assumed to be breathlessness. After proper assessment, it was found to be a simple nasal block and then treated,” said S Punit, son of A Shivaramu, a pourakarmika of Mysuru.

“On May 1, the trekkers celebrated Labour Day. The finale, to climb on the Mt Kuari Top, was quite tedious,” said Gaurav Rawat of Pahadi Adventures of Uttarakhand.

Anjana, a student of SSS School, whose parents sell vegetables, said, “My school fulfilled my dream to stand out in the community and provided me an opportunity to climb the Himalayas.”

“Anil Kumar and Tiger Solanki had a narrow escape while enquiring about security arrangements with a police officer at Shri Badarinath Dham. Following a spark, above their heads, a power line snapped and fell down. They swiftly moved out of the area,” recalls Tiwari.

“While in Amritsar to catch a flight back home, on May 7, we got a call from the airlines saying that the flight has been cancelled, due to a government notification. India had bombarded nine targets in Pakistan. We explored alternatives to return home,” said K D Madhu from Madikeri.

We organised a bus to shift to Delhi, as other airports were shut down, said Solanki.

Earlier, a training programme had been flagged off by Shenoy and ACF Lakshmikanth at Tavarekatte of Chamundi Hill. It culminated with a 10 km josh run, flagged off by ex-VC of Sanskrit University Padma Shekar and ex-corporator Prema Shankaregowda.

M E Manjunath, a photographer, went around the colonies and slums of Mysuru, scouting for the right children. The training was imparted by R Santhosh, Nanjunda Swamy and Harshavardhan.

The other team members were: M C Shwetha, Samarth Kashyap, Kevin, Neel Rakesh, D P Mamatha, Shobha, Pramila Pinakin Ayare, Anajana, Minchu, Anantha Kumar, Naveena, Chethan, Ashwin Kumar, Preetam, Nithyashree, Pallavi, Prem Kumar and L Kumar.