The last leg of the ocean sailing expedition ‘Samudra Pheri – 2018’ turned out to be a special occasion for NCC cadets as a person with cerebral palsy and mental retardation joined the expedition by swimming 5 km along with the NCC sail boat.
Puducherry Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumar, along with Colonel K Jayachandran, Group Commander, NCC group headquarters, Puducherry, and NCC officers, welcomed the three boats with 42 cadets including 12 girls that went on the expedition on July 10.
The annual ocean sailing expedition undertaken by NCC cadets on behalf of Puducherry NCC Group Headquarters Naval Wing, which was flagged off by Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi, terminated at Thengaithittu harbour in Puducherry on Saturday.
Welcoming the expedition team, Mr. Ashwani Kumar underlined that such occasions leave a permanent impact in memory. “We learn many things during these adventures. It has to be experienced to be believed,” he said, congratulating the team.
Girls team
Col. Jayachandran added: “This is the first time in the last five years of ocean sailing that girl cadets have been included in the expedition. Despite extreme rough weather, they managed to come back safely.”
He said that the ‘Samudra Pheri – 2018’ began from Kalapet and sailed to Thopputhurai via Puducherry, Cuddalore, Parangipettai, Pazhayar, Tarangambadi and Nagapattinam and then returned through Nagapattinam, Tarangambadi, Pazhayar, Parangipettai, Cuddalore and reached Puducherry.
This expedition is also the decider for the coveted ‘Most Enterprising Naval NCC Unit Trophy. The best one among the units conducting such expeditions across the country will be felicitated by Prime Minister during the Republic Day parade. The expedition was led by the Naval Officers Commander Dhinakaran and Lt. Commander Shiv Shankar. The team covered a distance of 456 km.
The expedition team also carried out various social service activities en route including beach cleaning, tree plantation, save environment rally and visit to an old age home during their halt at various locations.
