NCC cadets to undertake fresh expedition soon, peaks shortlisted: DG

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) A newly constituted NCC expedition team consisting of 20 cadets, is set to embark on a mountaineering adventure post monsoon when they will attempt to scale a peak in northern India, the Corps' director general said.

Two peaks have been shortlisted by the NCC -- Mt Yunam (6,111 m) in Himachal Pradesh and Mt Shalang Dhura (5,678 m) in Uttarakhand.

"One of the two peaks will be selected based on weather conditions. The team has equal number of male and females cadets, and the planned mission is in line with promoting a spirit of adventure among the youth," DG of NCC, Lieutenant General Gurbirpal Singh told PTI.

Both are basic or beginners' peak, he said.

The National Cadet Corps (NCC), the largest uniformed youth organisation in the world, was raised in 1948.

Earlier in May this year, an expedition team of the NCC summited Mt Everest — the world’s highest peak.

"We are now looking for the next expedition. We are still to decide on a peak, but it will be either Mt Yunam located in Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh or Mt Shalang Dhura, located in Uttarakhand," Singh said.

An NCC team has earlier scaled Mt Yunam but, it will be the "first attempt" by cadets to summit Mt Shalang Dhura, he added.

This will be a post-monsoon expedition, so depending on rainfall and other weather conditions, it is likely to begin around either end-September or October, he added.

The NCC DG said the Corps has already put together a team for this upcoming expedition.

Around fifteen days ago, nearly 150 cadets had come to Delhi after being shortlisted by their respective directorates, and from that pool, the 20 cadets were finalised, he said.

The NCC has 17 directorates spread across the country, with a total sanctioned strength of 20 lakh. It has two divisions -- Junior Division and Senior Division.

After they join, in the first year of Senior Division, the caders are made to train at various training academies as part of different courses, and mountaineering is also part of their training.

After selection for a mountaineering expedition, they get trained for 7-10 days in Uttarkashi generally, but due to natural disaster there recently, "we are trying to do this at another place in Uttarakhand", the DG said.

Lieutenant General Singh expressed pride that 2,000 NCC cadets along with 500 My Bharat volunteers were part of the team that sat in front of the Red Fort ramparts here during the 79th Independence Day celebrations, in a formation of the 'Naya Bharat' logo.

The NCC DG also attended the celebrations at Red Fort on August 15, where the defining spirit was the success of Operation Sindoor -- India's decisive four-day military action in May in the wake of Pahalgam attack.

"75,000 NCC cadets participated in civil defence and other related activities across the country, during the four-day period when Operation Sindoor was underway," he said.

The cadets helped in traffic management and crowd control. As also in hosting blood donation camps, thus contributing to nation-building which they are trained for, the DG said, adding, that they also took part in mock drills that took place around that period.

On the upcoming expedition, Lt Gen Singh said, besides the 20 cadets (average age 20-21 years), at least three officers and 10-15 support staff will be part of the team.

He said every year, two expeditions are planned, one pre-monsoon and another post-monsoon.

For putting together an NCC expedition team for scaling Mt Everest (8,848 m), "we take 1.5-2 years", the DG added.

Mt Everest was first conquered by New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary and his sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay in 1953, and has ever since fascinated climbers and mountaineers to scale the famed peak in the mighty Himalayas.

NCC cadets in the past, have successfully climbed other peaks too, including Mt Kang Yatse II (6,250 m) and Mt Abi Gamin (7,335 m). PTI KND OZ OZ