Photos 1 &2: Dr Shreekumar Mukherjee, Civil Defense Minister, West Bengal, congratulates NCC Cadets on successful completion of sailing expedition from Farakka to Kolkatta at Man of War Jetty on May 25. Photo 3: The Naval Unit NCC cadets of West bengal and Sikkim Directorate after completing the expedition. Photos: MoD
(Press Release)
A sailing expedition from Farakka to Kolkata undertaken by the Naval Unit NCC was flagged in today at the Man-of-War Jetty in Kolkata by Dr. Shreekumar Mukherjee, Civil Defence Minister, West Bengal.
It is an annual adventure activity of the Naval Unit NCC West Bengal and Sikkim Directorate. The expedition from Farakka(Murshidabad) to Kolkata, a distance of about 430 kms by river route was conducted for 80 ( 54 boys and 26 girls) Naval Unit NCC Cadets in four Whaler class boats under the command of Commander Madhukar Kulshrestha, Commanding Officer, No.1 (Bengal) Naval Unit NCC. The expedition was flagged off by the AGM, NTPC, Farakka on May 11. There were seven halts along the river Hooghly namely Raghunathganj, Berhampur, Katwa, Mayapur, Kalna, Chinsurah and Dakshineswar.
The aim of this sailing expedition is to inculcate a spirit of adventure and healthy competition amongst the cadets besides building up mental and physical toughness, camaraderie, stamina, alertness and ability to interact as a team of disciplined cohesive body for facing tough situations.
The cadets were imparted Navy oriented training viz. pulling, sailing, boat handling, river navigation, towing, visual and R/T communication. Opportunity was also utilized to introduce the cadets to the rich cultural heritage by conducting visits to the places of historical importance.
The cadets undertook social service activities en route like tree plantation, cleaning of roads, “save the girl child”, “Save the Tiger”, and “Save the Earth”, campaigns. Street plays and road shows were conducted at the places of scheduled halts. The Cadets interacted with the tribal’s and distributed fruits. The cadets were very keen to adopt a village and accordingly Authpur village near Bhatpura in North 24 Parganas has been adopted by the unit. One solar lamp and some soft toys were gifted to the village. Survey of the children was undertaken and cadets of this unit have taken a resolve to support these children physically and financially for a period of one year.
In his address the Chief Guest Dr. Shreekumar Mukherjee highly appreciated the role of NCC in motivating the youths to build up a healthy and strong India.