Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt flagged off upcoming National Institute of Mountaineering & Allied Sports (NIMAS) multidimensional adventure sports expedition to Europe, in New Delhi on October 27, 2021. The NIMAS will be conducting this expedition in the general area Chamonix, France in November 2021, which is considered the adventure capital of Europe. Expedition will be led by NIMAS Director Col Sarfraz Singh.
The expedition, in line with the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav theme of the Government, aims to commemorate 75 years of Independence with an overall aim to promote adventure sports in the country by conducting India’s first multidimensional adventure sports expedition in the fields of land, aero and aqua. It has also been stated that such an expedition will be a milestone in the history of NIMAS as it will showcase the dynamic skills and adventure expertise of the Institute in all the three fields.
The locations of expedition are (i) Alps Mountains; (ii) Chamonix; (iii) Normandy and (iv) English Channel. The multidimensional activities planned during the expedition are as under:
(i) To climb Europe’s the highest mountaineering peak of Alps Ranges, Mt Blanc
(ii) Multiple paragliding launches near the valley floor of Alps;
(iii) Mountain terrain biking from Alps Mountains to English Channel, to cover approximately 1,000 kilometres
(iv) Scuba diving upto 40 metre depth in the English Channel by scuba instructors
(v) Parajumping from 10,000 to 15,000 feet at the famous Normandy Landing Zones of World War II.
There will be hoisting/unfurling/displaying of Tricolour during in all these activities, whether air, land or under water.
In the year 2003, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made an announcement that a national level mountaineering institute should be established in the North East. In pursuance of this announcement, National Institute of Mountaineering & Allied Sports (NIMAS) was established at Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh in 2013. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh is its President and Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh the Vice President. It is the only Institute in the country, which is mandated to conduct training in adventure courses in all three fields i.e., land, aero and aqua.
During the last five years, the Institute conducted various expeditions including Mt Everest Expedition, Mt Trishul, Mt Kun, Mt Gorichen, Mt Kangto-6 and to various other mountain peaks. It has also conducted rafting expeditions to seven major rivers of Arunachal Pradesh. In 2019-20, the NIMAS cycling team undertook cycling expedition to four South East Asian countries, i.e., Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
