82-year-old woman becomes Sikkim's oldest paraglider

Gangtok, November 8

An octogenarian, who is a grandmother of three, has become the oldest paraglider in Sikkim, the Paragliding Association of the state said on Saturday.

82-year-old Dukmit Lepcha took to the skies on October 28 from a paragliding point near Aangi monastery at Ranka, which is a small town 20 km from capital Gangtok, sources in it said.

The oldest paraglider registered by Sikkim Paragliding Association before Dumkit Lepcha was a 68-year-old man, sources in Paragliding Association of Sikkim said.

“The 82-year-old woman will inspire many to make Sikkim tourism a new adventure destination,” the Assistant Director, Adventure at Sikkim Tourism and Civil Aviation Department, Manoj Chettri, said on Saturday.

Paragliding will be a totally new product for tourists and tour operators, he said.

“It was such a pleasant experience. I enjoyed it and no I was not afraid. My granddaughter, who is 17 years old, went before me but she was a little scared. I did not tremble at all because I wanted to know what it feels like to fly,” Lepcha said.

She flew for nearly six minutes at an elevation of about 4,500 feet as her family, onlookers and the members of the Paragliding Association of Sikkim cheered on.

Lepcha said this was not the first adventure sport she has participated in nor is it her last.

In 2016 she went scuba diving off Andaman coast. Her next plan is cycling, Lepcha added. PTI