Correct Answer : Harshwanti Bisht
Noted mountaineer from Uttarakhand, Harshwanti Bisht has earned the distinction of being elected the first woman president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF). The 62-year-old Bisht won 60 out of a total of 107 votes to get elected to the coveted post. It is for the first time that a woman has been elected as the president of the IMF, which was founded in the year 1958.
About Harshwanti Bisht :
* Bisht, 62, who hails from a village named Sukai in Pauri district, says promoting mountaineering and other adventure sports, and bringing more women into the field will be among her priorities.
* Bisht, who has been honoured with the Arjuna award for her achievements in the field of mountaineering, said there was a time when Uttarakhand used to be at the top when it came to adventure sports like mountaineering but the scenario has changed in recent years.
* Bisht, who did a course in mountaineering from the Uttarkashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in 1975, scaled the Nanda Devi peak in 1981 which earned her the Arjuna award. She was also a member of an expedition team to Mount Everest in 1984.
* A professor of economics, Bisht recently retired as the principal of PG College, Uttarkashi.
