Flag in of #ITBP River Rafting Expedition-2015 ^LoPN xaxk ^
Flag in of ITBP River Rafting Expedition-2015 ^LoPN xaxk ^
21st December-2015, New Delhi : Inspired from Hon’ble PM’s ‘Namami Gange’ Project, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had organized a 72 days voyage- ITBP River Rafting Expedition-2015 ^LoPN xaxk^ from 2nd October-2015 to 12th Dec-2015 from Dev Prayag (Uttarakhand) to Gangasagar (West Bengal).
A Flag-in ceremony was organized at ITBP HQ today. Shri Kiren Rijiju, Hon’ble Minister of State for Home Affairs was the Chief Guest on the occasion. In his address, Shri Rijiju congratulated all the members of the expedition for their successful voyage and praised the ITBP for such a gesture. He said that ITBP should organize such events in future also for noble public interest initiatives. Welcoming the Chief Guest, Shri Krishna Chaudhary, DG ITBP explained the idea and achievement of this expedition and said that the ITBP will surely take such initiatives related to the citizens in future as well.
ITBP planned this Rafting expedition with the aim to spread awareness to keep river Ganga clean and to contribute in cleanliness drive of the river. ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ and ‘Swachchh Bharat’ were also included in the awareness programmes by the Expedition. This expedition was flagged off by Sushri Uma Bharati, Hon’ble Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation minister at Dev Prayag on 2nd Oct-2015 and terminated at Gangasagar (West Bengal) covering a distance of 2350 KMs. This expedition passed through five states covering important cities – Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kannauj, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Munger, Sahibganj, Bahrampur and Kolkata including many other small cities and villages.
Members of the expedition collected samples of river Ganga at various places and handed over it to state pollution board for detailed analysis of the pollution in the River, subsequently the report will be submitted to the Govt. of India. While their transit stay enroute at various places, team members collected polythene bags and garbage from the River and handed over to local administration for further disposal. Local people and students also participated in this drive. Sh. Surinder Khatri, Commandant, Team leader and Sh. Tarun Kumar, Dy Commandant, Dy Team Leader delivered lectures on Clean Ganga at different places and conveyed message of the Expedition. Team also donated dustbins to local bodies at various places on the banks of Ganga.
The objective of River Rafting Expedition-2015 ^^LoPN xaxk ^^ covering a distance of 2350 Km long river route was to spread awareness to keep river Ganga clean and its banks polythene free. It also aimed to promote conservation of ecosystem of Ganga river, promote water sports and sense of adventure among youth. In the past, a 58 day rafting expedition of 2560 kms from Gomukh to Gangasagar ‘Ganga Punardarshan’ was successfully conducted by ITBP from 23 April to 19 June 2012. ITBP had also successfully conducted rafting expeditions in River Indus and mighty river Brahamputra. ITBP is primarily a border guarding Central Armed Police Force of the Union which guards Indo-Tibetan Border since its inception in 1962. Its units are deployed in Naxal affected areas, UN security mission in DR Congo and also deployed in Afghanistan to provide security to Indian Embassy at Kabul and Indian Consulates General at Jalalabad, Kandahar, Heart and Mazare-e-Sharif. To conserve environment, ITBP has also planted more than 4 Lac tree saplings across the country this year and this process is still on.
(Vivek Kumar Pandey)
Public Relation Officer
Dte General, ITB Police
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