Inspired by PM, Bachendri Pal will launch rafting expedition on Ganges

Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 3

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Padma Shri and the Arjuna Award recipient Bachendri Pal on Wednesday announced to launch a 25 day-long rafting expedition on the Ganges to help spread awareness on cleanliness of the river from October 5-30.

Pal was the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1984.

The 40-member team for the expedition will be led by Pal. It will be kicked off from Haridwar in Uttarakhand and culminate at Patna.

It will camp at about 10 cities along the river’s banks. The expedition has been named “Mission Ganga”.

The expedition will be a partnership of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) of which Pal is the head.

“I feel proud that Prime Minister Modi voices concern on issues such as cleanliness, protection of environment and the nature. I feel inspired,” Pal said while announcing the expedition.

A native of Nakuri village in Uttarakashi in Uttarakhand, Pal said that her attachment to the Ganges and cleanliness has not been overnight.

“My house in my village oversees Bhagirathi which turns into Ganges after merging with it.”

“I have imbibed the view from childhood that Ganges is spiritual, and the nature, the Earth, and cows are our mothers,” Pal said.

The iconic figure said the expedition would be a tough call.

“My mantra has always been to focus on the task at hand and to welcome challenges,” she said.

She recounted that the Indo-Nepalese Women’s Everest Expedition led by her in 1993,  voluntarily brought down 500 kg of non-biodegradable waste form Everest, which was properly disposed of in Kathmandu.

Since then, this has been made mandatory for all expeditions to the Everest.

Similarly, in 1994, apart from the hardcore “adventure element”, the women brought ashore several bodies and buried them showing great resilience.

Another Padm Shri awardee in the team, Premlata Agarwal, said, “I believe that awards and my personal achievements mean nothing if sacrifice is not made for my country”.

The expedition team comprises 20 men and equal number of women. It has in all eight mountaineers who have summited Mount Everest.

They are Hemant Gupta, RS Pal, Chetna Sahoo, Binita Soren, Poonam Rana, Swanlata Dalai, besides Bachendri Pal and Premlala Agarwal.

The team also has five engineers from IIT, one radio jockey and management graduates.

The expedition will traverse a distance of 1500 km encompassing eight towns, including Bijnore, Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi along the banks.

The team members will camp at these towns and take part in events involving locals to spread awareness on cleanliness of the river.