• NET Web Desk

The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today flagged-in the nation’s first multi-dimensional adventure sports expedition in New Delhi, which was organized by the National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS) in France.

Conducted in November 2021, the expedition team was led by the NIMAS Director, Colonel Sarfaraz Singh. The team comprised of 12 people – eight Army personnel and four youths of Arunachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Singh also interacted with some of the members of the team present in New Delhi. He distributed appreciation certificates and commended the team for completing the expedition without any injuries to its members.

The team leader presented the ice-axe, marking the flagging-in of the expedition team, to the Defence Minister. Besides, the Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and other officials of Ministry of Defence were also present on the occasion.

This team carried out over 250 kilometres of winter trekking in the Alps Mountain Ranges, which included – Tour De Mont Blanc trek covering the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. The paragliding team conducted 19 jumps/flights on the valley floor of the Alps from different mountain locations.

It was followed by 975 kilometres of cycling from Alps Mountain Ranges to English Channel near Dunkirk via France, Switzerland and Belgium. The cycling activity was carried out in extreme cold weather condition where the team cycled on an average of 09-10 hours/day without any logistic vehicle.

The Multi-dimensional Expedition culminated with 12 deep scuba dives in the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, hoisting and unfurling of the Tricolour was carried out by the team during each adventure activity in air, land and underwater.

According to PIB report, “the team leader, having requisite qualification and experience in mountaineering, cycling, paragliding and scuba diving, participated in all the four adventure activities held during the expedition.”

The expedition which was organized as part of 75th years of Independence, and celebrating India’s freedom struggle based on the theme “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” was flagged-off by the Minister of State (MoS) for Defence, Ajay Bhatt on October 27, 2021.

After the completion of the expedition, Indian Ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf also felicitated the team at the Indian Embassy in Paris.