Hot air ballooning expedition covering over 3,000 km distance flagged off from Jammu

To create awareness among people about adventure activities, the Tiger Division on Tuesday flagged off a hot air ballooning expedition named ‘Jai Bharat’ from here, set to cover an aerial distance of 3,236 km up to Kanyakumari by the end of this year.

This is the first such long distance expedition by the Army’s adventure wing since the introduction of the sport in 1997 and was aimed at connecting with youth of the country and motivate them to join the Army, Lieutenant Colonel Vivek Ahlawat said.

General Officer Commanding, Tiger division, Maj Gen Sharad Kapur flagged off the 30-member strong expedition from Sunjiwan garrison here, an event which was attended by school children, ex-servicemen, soldiers and their families.

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“The trans-India expedition—India, north-south Jammu and Kashmir to Kanyakumari --will be completed in three phases and will hold over a dozen aero shows at different places of the country enroute to Kanyakumari with an aim to popularise the hot air ballooning which is still nascent,” Lt Col Ahlawat said.

He said the expedition was conceptualised with an aim to promote adventurous spirit of the Indian Army and generating awareness among the country’s youth about adventure activities in general and hot air ballooning in particular.

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The first phase covering 1,247 km aerial distance from Jammu to Bhopal by November 23 will be followed by second phase from Bhopal to Secunderbad from November 24 to December 5, covering an aerial distance of 745 km, he said.

After a two-day aero show at Secunderabad, the army officer said the third phase will start on December 10 from Secunderabad and the flag in ceremony will be held at Kanyakumari on December 29 and the teams will return to Bhopal and Jabalpur.