4th Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition Flagged off

Bhubaneswar: The 4th Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition 2019 has been flagged off at the iconic Kalinga Stadium here on Monday.

The expedition will see 15 local students summiting Mt. Stok Kangri in Ladakh from September 12th to 24th.

“This is the fourth year, we started in 2016. The idea was to expose the young boys and girls of our state to adventure sports. We have done it successfully three times. 15 boys and girls have been selected. They will be going to Mt. Stok Kangri with a height of 20,187ft in the Leh Ladakh region. They will get to learn lessons in leadership and teamwork. They will be back on September 27,” said Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Odisha Sports and Youth Services Department Vishal.

The 4th Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition to Mt. Stock Kangri (20,187 ft) in Leh region, is planned to be held from 12th to 24th September’ with technical support from Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF). The two-level ‘Selection-cum-Preparatory Camps’ were held earlier to finalize the expedition team. The final team consisting of 10 boys and 05 girls under the leadership of Shri. Ganesh Chandra Jena, Everester will be going on the expedition to Mt. Stock Kangri.

The expedition will be headed and guided by Padmashree Bachendri Pal, Legendary Mountaineer & first Indian lady to climb Mt. Everest. Mr. Haresh Kumar Mishra, Programme Officer from the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Odisha will also be accompanying the team up to base camp in Leh for smooth coordination of the programme.

For the selection of participants of this expedition, an open advertisement was published in the month of June-2019. In response 97 applications were received for the purpose, out of which 65 youth (53 male & 12 female) were eligible and attended the fitness/ endurance test at Kalinga Stadium on 18th July-2019.

The pre-selection camp held at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, was organized under the Technical Support of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF). Out of 65 participants, 30 youths (20 boys & 10 girls) were selected for the Conditioning Camp held at Utarakshi from 02nd to 12th August-2019.

15 youth (10 boys & 05 girls) were finally selected for the 4th Biju Patnaik Himalayan Expedition-2019 to “Mt. Stock Kangri”.

The expedition is organised by Odisha’s Sports and Youth department in association with Tata Steel Adventure Foundation.