The first ever all-women sailing expedition of the Indian Army completed its journey
The first ever all-women sailing expedition of the Indian Army completed its journey and returned to the city on Wednesday, officials said.
Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan had formally flagged off the event on February 15 organised by the Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (EME) Sailing Association of the Army under the aegis of Southern Command Sailing Node, EME Sailing Association and the Army Adventure Wing.
The expedition team completed its gruelling journey on the Chennai Nizampatnam-Vizag-Nizampatnam-Chennai and returned to the Chennai Port Trust on Wednesday, a press release said in Chennai.
On its arrival at the Chennai Port Trust, Major General SS Dahiya, Chief of Staff, Dakshin Bharat Area, flagged off the expedition and complemented the EME Sailing Association and the Army Adventure Wing for the event.
The expedition would not only give an impetus to sailing as a sport, but would also inspire young girls to don the olive greens and serve the nation, SS Dahiya said.
Major Mukta Gautam of the Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) led the expedition with the team comprising -- Major Priya Semwal, Priya Das, Rashmil Sangwan, Arpita Dwivedi and Sanjana Mittal and Captain Jyoti Singh, Malvika Rawat, Shubham Solanki and Sonal Goyal.
"The officers were trained in blue water sailing and watermanship under the tutelage of EME Sailing Association and HBTC Marve, before embarking on the expedition," the release said.
The Navy and Coast Guard provided its support throughout the expedition by tracking the team besides offering necessary assistance.
The Dakshin Bharat Area headquarters provided the logistics support for the expedition. Chennai Port Trust Deputy Chairman Balaji Arun Kumar, officials from Navy and Coast Guard were also present on the occasion.
The successful completion of the expedition is yet another step towards women empowerment and the sustained efforts towards enhancing the role of women officers in the Army, the release said.
The EME Sailing Association has undertaken a large number of offshore sailing expeditions over the last two decades, including -- Mumbai-Kochi expedition in 2009, Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai in 2017, and the Indian Peninsula Offshore Sailing expedition in 2018.