Seelam Eswaraiah is on top of the world. He is part of the group of young men that has scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro, the second highest mountain peak after Mt. Everest, located in Tanzania.
Mr. Eswaraiah unfurled the national flag and then stood holding a banner with a photograph of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the backdrop of the icy mountain peaks.
Hailing from a remote tribal hamlet near Macherla in the district, Mr. Eswaraiah thanked district Collector I. Samuel Ananda Kumar, who supported his mission by granting ₹2.70 lakh towards meeting his expenses for the trip.
Mr. Eswaraiah, a second year degree student at Kavali, was selected by Transcend Adventures, an Hyderabad-based firm, for the expedition that started on January 17.
The team went to Kilimanjaro and began the trip on January 18. After over eight days of trekking through the tropical rain forests, which included a trek from Moshi to Mandera Hut (5-6 km), and then up to Horombo Hut, and finally to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa (5,895 metres).
