The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee flagged off the first North East Expedition to Mt. Everest by handing over the expedition flag to the leader of the Expedition Team, Dr. L. Surjit Singh today (March 20, 2013) at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that this expedition is important not only because it seeks to scale Mt. Everest, the highest in the world, but because it symbolises mankind’s indomitable sprit to fight against all odds.
This North East Expedition to Mt. Everest is organized by Government of Manipur through the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association. It is sponsored by the North Eastern Council, Shillong. The Expedition team includes Mrs. Anshu Jamsenpa, the first lady from Arunachal Pradesh, who has already scaled Mt. Everest twice and Mr. N. Chinkheinganba, a 16 year old boy who on completion of the expedition will be the youngest to scale the Mt. Everest.
The main objective of the North East Mount Everest Expedition is to share the experiences of adventure- sports among the youth and foster in them endurance, a spirit of risk taking, co-operative team work and the capacity of ready and vital response to challenging situations.
This release issued at 1330 hrs