President of India flags off Mount Kanchenjunga Expedition
Guwahati,Rongili Barta- The Honorable President of India, Droupadi Murmu, flagged off the ‘AMA Mount Kanchenjunga Expedition 2023’ at an event organised at the State Guest House, Koinadhara in Guwahati on Friday. The brief ceremony was attended by the Governor of Assam, Gulab Chand Kataria, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, along with senior officials of the Assam Government, the President’s Secretariat and office bearers of the AMA Mount Kanchenjunga Expedition 2023 Organizing Committee, among others. Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chef-de-Mission of this mega expedition, welcomed the President with a ‘Fulam Gamosa’. Satyen Sarma, the Chief Convenor of the expedition presented the expedition memento to the President. The expedition souvenir was handed over to President Droupadi Murmu by the President of the Assam Mountaineering Association, Dr. Debendra Nath Mahanta. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, in her brief speech described Mount Kanchenjunga a beautiful creation of nature. The President also stated that she considers herself as a fortunate one to be present at the inaugural event of this mega expedition. She wished success of this expedition and believed that it would inspire a generation of mountaineers of the state and the region. Smt. Murmu formally flagged off this expedition by handing over an ice-axe baton fitted with the national flag and expedition flag to the team leader of this expedition, Manash Barooah. The expedition to Mount Kanchenjunga is fully sponsored by the Department of Sports & Youth Welfare, Government of Assam. The seven-member main expedition team will be led by one of the most experienced mountaineers from the state Manash Barooah. Another seasoned mountaineer and Associate Professor of Tezpur Medical College & Hospital Dr Jagadish Basumatary will bear the responsibility of Deputy Leader cum Medical Officer in the team. The other team members are Upen Chakraborty as Joint Deputy Leader, Kaushik Das, Bhaskar Baruah, Jayanta Nath and Sekhar Bordoloi. The main expedition team will leave Guwahati on April 11 and will reach Taplejung via Siliguri and Kakarvita (Nepal) by vehicle. From there they will start trekking and will reach Kanchenjunga Base Camp (5200m) on April 20. After the establishment of another four camps in between the base camp and the summit and proper acclimatization, the team will launch its final attempt in between May 13 to May 18 to the summit.