Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, honoured the Fit @50+ Women's Trans Himalayan Expedition 2022 team on Tuesday at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium in New Delhi.
In honour of International Women's Day, Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, flagged off the expedition on March 8 in New Delhi under the direction of mountaineering great Bachendri Pal from India.
The expedition travelled over 4,841 kilometres from Pangsau pass (the Indo-Myanmar border), in Arunachal Pradesh, to Dras sector, in Kargil, in Ladakh. From the east to the west of the Himalayas in India and Nepal, it traversed 35 high mountain passes in 140 days.
When referring to the mammoth excursion made by the crew of 17 mountaineers, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur stated, "Being fit at 50 years old, this is a tremendous slogan in itself. Not just the 50+ population of the nation, but everyone of India, has found inspiration from the voyage. By all means, what you guys did is amazing. Additionally, it embodies Nari-inherent Shakti's potency.
Reiterating the Prime Minister of India's vision regarding Fit India, Thakur said, " Narendra Modi ji envisioned the mantra of 'Fitness ki dose, adha ghanta Roz'. Now, we have done everything possible to live up to that vision. The challenges were steep and the Indian Army too lent their helping hands in every step. Bachendri Pal's leadership was exceptional."
Thakur recommended that more fitness-related programmes be developed in border regions that may be combined with the Fit India and Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat initiatives. This programme will offer fitness classes in border regions. The youth will also have the chance to visit and learn about the border towns and villages. Even young people who live in rural areas need to get a taste of city life, he continued.
The goal of this voyage was to increase senior citizen awareness of health and fitness and to serve as an example, particularly for women, of how to maintain good health and continue to have ambitious dreams at any age.
The hardest passes were Thorang La (17,800 ft.), Lamkhaga (17,700 ft.), Bha Bha (16,00 ft.), and Parang La (18,300 ft.), which was also the highest of the trip. At a height of more than 10,000 feet, the longest day of hiking lasted 13.5 hours. At a high altitude of 12000 feet, the most distance travelled in a single day was 29 kilometres. Some of the routes in Eastern and Western Nepal were quite remote, had extremely few resources, and occasionally required us to trek for several days at altitudes between 1000 and 14000 feet.
