Tohana (Fatehabad): Ram Lal, 24, climbed the world's highest peak Mt Everest in May this year and unfurled the Indian tricolour.
When he returned home, the Haryana government promised him Rs 5 lakh award, but he is yet to receive the money.
His father Satpal Sharma is bedridden due to spinal injuries, and Ram Lal was in dire need of help. He took to vending vegetables and fruits in Fatehabad to eke out a living.
"I got some financial help from local NGOs and a few persons like Devinder Babli. I had taken a loan for my father's treatment, and now I am selling vegetables to repay that loan", says Ram Lal.
Ram Lal met the local MLA and minister Paramvir Singh and Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar for help, bot none of them helped.
Strangely, another Mt Everest climber Mamta Sodha who reached peak was appointed DSP by the Haryana government and given Rs 21 lakh.
Ram Lal is a graduate in sports science and holds a diploma in physical education. He was promised Rs 5 lakh by Harayana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. '
Haryana sports and youth affairs director general Sudhir Rajpal says, the verification process for giving the cash award to Ram Lal is under way.
