Chandigarh, Apr 6 (IANS): As a goodwill gesture, former ITBP Commandant and Everest climber Mohinder Singh, 76, has contributed Rs 5 lakh from his pension to Punjab Chief Ministers Coronavirus Relief Fund.

He said it is the duty of every responsible citizen to contribute to the fund to fight the deadly virus.

"We can save each and every life and get our country back to normal," he said in a statement.

Singh, who led the expedition to scale the Everest through the toughest North-Col route in 1996, thanked all the frontline soldiers, doctors, police personnel, administration and workers who are working tirelessly to control the situation by risking their lives.

Native of Ludhiana city, he has done extensive trekking in Indian Himalayas and also scaled Alps.

An interesting fact about his Mt Everest expedition was that it was completed under the stint of three Prime Ministers.

It was flagged off by Narasimha Rao on March 22, 1996. When the team captured it, they talked to Atal Bihari Vajpayee. And when they came back, then Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister.