At the age of 25, while most young men and women are chasing for lucrative careers or amassing their fortune, Harshvardhan Joshi, an IT engineer from Vasai scaled the summit of Mt Everest for a noble cause, and i.e. sustainability. Even the pandemic could not deter his determination as he stayed at the base camp while recovering from COVID to raise the Indian flag at the peak.
Despite all pandemic adversity, Joshi began his mammoth expedition to scale Mt Everest from Kathmandu on April 6, and by May 23, he conquered the 8,848 ascending journey. Harsh chose a sustainable path in his quest using renewable and clean solar power to protect the mountains.
Chirag Rural Development Foundation (CRDF) that works towards the solar electrification in villages with little or no access to the electricity grid provided all support to Joshi. Pratibha Pai Founder of Chirag said, “We congratulate him, as he shines in the reflection of 'green glory'. Harsh has conquered the Everest benevolently and graciously - choosing a sustainable path to fullfill his dream and using renewable and clean solar power to protect the mountains". She added that Harsh's mission is beyond mountaineering as he has decided to bring solar power to the remote villages of his accompanying guides and friends in Nepal. In the past 11 years since it’s inception, Project Chirag has impacted 522 villages in 11 states, touching the lives of more than 1,16,000 rural Indians.
Pai said that for the past 7 years, Joshi has worked towards his dream with a rare tenacity, and today he stands as a Youth Ambassador for Project Chirag, the flagship initiative of CRDF.
Joshi makes no bones of his beliefs. Joshi spent 2 months, battling with COVID-19 and blizzards, making this treacherous climb, with a multifaceted vision—to raise the Indian flag and—to inspire more and more youth to waste less in terms of resources.
Pai said that he is a firm supporter of sustainability and rural development, on having completed his mission, he is working towards electrifying villages with Project Chirag, giving these lost lives in the Nepal hinterland, access to their basic rights. “The right to light. The right to life,” added Pai.
