Sailing Expedition – Lachit II arrives at Pandu Port

HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Oct 27: Major General Bhaskar Kalita, YSM, ADG NCC Directorate NER flagged in the ‘Sailing Expedition – Lachit II’ on Wednesday at Pandu Port, Guwahati as part of 75 years of NCC Raising celebrations.
The expedition was flagged off from Biswanath Ghar, Biswanath Chariali on October 17. 76 senior division and senior wing naval NCC cadets from 48 and 49 Assam Naval Unit NCC participated in the expedition. The team covered a distance of 220 km in 10 days traversing through 5 districts before reaching Pandu Port, Guwahati on Wednesday. The expedition team took night halts at Silghat, Jahajghat, Thelamara, Tengagauri, Baramari, Kashasila, Hatisila, Kurua and Lachit Ghat while enroute to Pandu Port, Guwahahti. While enroute, the team interacted with locals and spread awareness on various social issues viz. drug abuse, ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ and ‘Social Media – Benefits and Harms’, etc. The team also undertook cleanship of river fronts as part of ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyaan’ and distributed dustbins to various schools and colleges during halts as social service and community development.
The expedition was conducted with an aim of promoting the spirit of adventure amongst NCC Cadets and highlighting the contribution of NCC towards nation building since independence.
The expedition was led by Lt Cdr Rajesh Bhujel, CO 49 A NU NCC and was assisted by Lt Cdr Debanand Doley, CO 48 A NU NCC as safety officer. Three in no 27 ft DK Whalers, a support vessel from IWT, army and two rescue boats from both the Naval NCC Units were part of the expedition. The expedition team was tested by the uncharted routes as few of the locations such as Thelamara, Tengaguri and Baramari are not regular ports. Apart from this, the team also withstood the challenges imposed by the cyclone ‘Sitrang’ during the last legs of expedition wherein the team completed the last two legs in incessant rain and gusty winds
The expedition allowed the Naval NCC cadets to explore the mightiness of river Brahmaputra as well as understand the importance of maintaining the rivers for future generations. They also had a unique experience of understanding the life of people residing in the river banks which will help them in their future endeavours.
Brig Dinar Dighe, Gp Cdr, NCC Gp HQ Guwahati, Partha Pegu, director, IWT Guwahati and Col Arvind Singh Thakur, CO 1 Assam NCC Bn also attended the event.