28 tonnes of relief airlifted to cyclone-hit Myanmar
Posted by barunroy on June 2, 2008
ARMY LIVE
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| Students at the training session at Kripan Riding School |
India has sent one aeroplane load of ready-to-eat meals to the worst-ever cyclone hit Myanmar. As part of Operation Sahayata, 28 tonnes of relief items were airlifted to the neighbouring country.
Relief material were transported to the Bagdogra airfield under the supervision of the Sub Area headquarters and loading into the aircraft was carried out by the railhead supply depot, Bengdubi, together with Indian Air Force personnel.
Summer camp
A summer riding camp has been organised by the Kripan Riding School from May 12 to June 7 to engage youngsters in the sport and also to impart basic riding training to novices.
The Army Supply Corps is running the school at the Binnaguri cantonment for the personnel of the station and their family members.
The camp has been instrumental in raising awareness, professional acumen and self-confidence of children. It has also strengthened the bond between man and animal, and the riders are now keen to spread the message of “love the animals: they are a great inspiration”.
Frey expedition
A mountaineering team of an engineers’ regiment summitted the 20,004ft high Mt Frey in the Sangalila range of West Sikkim. The team was led by the commanding officer of the unit, Col Anand Swaroop, and comprised two officers and 13 others.
Flagged off by Lt Gen. Deepak Raj, general-officer-commanding (GOC), Trishakti Corps, on May 13, the team reached Yuksam at 5,828ft on May 14 and camped at the site.
Next day, they trekked about 16km to reach Bakhim at 9,000ft. The team acclimatised itself here over two days and marched on to Dzongri at 13,700ft.
The trek from Dzongri to Chaurikhang was arduous and required going through the Dzongri pass at 14,300ft. The weather was inclement and it was snowing all the way. Chaurikhang at 14,600ft served as the base camp for the team, which stayed there for two days and practised how to negotiate boulders on the hill, ice climbing techniques and acclimatisation process for the summit attempt.
The team started to move to the Camp-I located on the Frey glacier on May 19 and had to ferry a load of provisions at 16,000ft. The stay at camp-I was tough and chilly. Camp-II was set up at a height of 18,200ft on the Frey ridge and served as the summit camp for the team.
On May 22, the team set out for the summit at 3am and, after eight hours of climbing and rope fixing, it managed to scale the peak.
The ice axe with flags of the Trishakti Corps, the Corps of Engineers and the national flag were pitched on the top.
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| Members of the expedition team atop Mt Frey |
Signal boss visit
Lt Gen. S.P. Sree Kumar, the signal officer-in-chief of the army and senior colonel commandant of the Corps of Signals, visited the Trishakti Corps from May 15 to 16.
The general addressed a sainik sammelan and appreciated the signallers’ efforts to provide uninterrupted and reliable communication in inhospitable terrain.
The official asked the personnel to overcome the challenges of making the army “network enabled” by 2012.
During his meeting with the GOC of the Trishakti Corps, the signal officer-in-chief highlighted the efforts being put in to improve communication.
Tennis court
Maj. Gen. P.S. Bhalla, the GOC of the Kripan Division, opened the renovated squash court at the station, as part of the ongoing upgrade of sports facilities. He also inaugurated the first synthetic surface tennis court built in the Binnaguri military station.
