On 7th Dec 22, the otherwise quiet environs of the Golden Pagoda at Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh were filled with flurry of activities. Hundreds of officers and men of Indian Army as well as civil population thronged the premises of the Pagoda. In presence was the Deputy CM of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Chowna Mein. The event was the flagging in ceremony of the Eastern Command Trans Theatre Activities (ECTTAA-22).
Under ECTTAA-22, a series of Adventure Activities were conducted by the Indian Army’s Eastern Command Headquarters. The series of adventure activities were conducted all along the Northern Borders with China and included expedition to Mt Jongsong Peak in the Indo-Nepal-Tiber border to a trekking expedition to Jachep La in the Eastern most part of Eastern Command area of responsibility. The adventure activities involved 19 teams participating in three mountaineering expeditions (the highest being to Mt Jongsong at 7462 mtr), Seven treks of more than 750 Kms traversing through places with average height of 16500 feet, Six Cycling Expeditions along six valleys on non-existent roads covering over 1000 Kms and Rafting over three rivers in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The Eastern Command Trans Theatre Adventure Activities 2022 were flagged off from Gangtok on 25 Aug 2022 in presence of Ganga Parsad, Governor of Sikkim and Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister Sikkim.
The efforts of Indian Army’s Eastern Command are noteworthy and will definitely contribute towards promotion of tourism in border areas. Each of the expedition has been publicised widely in media and social media platforms creating awareness about the beauty and tourism potential of these border areas.
The civilian participants had an experience of a lifetime. Many of them are very popular in Social Media platforms and their followers got a view of the beauty of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh through their lens. It will also give an impetus to civilian visits to the places along the LAC thereby leading to promotion of tourism on own side of the LAC.
Source: Army Authorities
Report- Pratyusha Mukherjee
