Shillong, April 9: The India Army has launched a motorcycle rally on Sunday covering all the Northeastern states to commemorate the raising day of 101 Area of Eastern Command of the Army 60 years ago.
The rally will culminate on April 22 in the city.
Rhino Riders’ Motorcycle Rally organised by the Headquarters 101 Area, was flagged off by Governor of Meghalaya, Phagu Chauhan, from Rhino Training Complex Shillong. It commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of Headquarters 101 Area which was raised on April 22, 1963, in the wake of 1962 operations, to provide logistics support across entire Northeast region.
Ten riders,including a lady will take 14 days to cover 2031 kms in the North East.
The governor lauded 101 Area for its unique distinction of having taken part in active combat operations in spite of being a logistics formation. He recalled the crowning glory of 101 Area being the first among all Indian forces to reach Dacca on the morning of December 16, 1971 and played a role in the war for liberation of Bangladesh. He complimented the formation for its stellar contribution towards infrastructure development and logistics which aided nation building both during war and peace.
Congratulating the motorcycle team for embarking on the challenging and prestigious rally, he lauded the intent to reach out to youth to motivate them to join the Army as well as to meet veterans and veer naris of the entire North East region.
The rally team led by Col Pankaj Chaturvedi of HQ 101 Area, will travel though Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
It will also aid civil military fusion and celebrate the spirit of patriotism in the landmark year of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
