To celebrate the 75th Independence day, an all-women team of three armed forces scaled Mount Manirang. The mountain is actually located in Himachal Pradesh and on August 15 the defense ministry said that the all-women theme with armed forces will be celebrating Independence Day in a unique way. The team was actually led by Wing Commander Bhavna Mehra of the Indian Air Force ( IAF). The 15 member expedition set out for mountaineering on August 1 from the air force station which is present in New Delhi.
According to the ministry’s statement “The other members of the team who summited the peak and hoisted the national flag atop are Wg Cdr Bhavana Mehra, Lt Col Geetanjali Bhatt, Wg Cdr Nirupama Pandey, Wg Cdr Vyomika Singh, Wg Cdd Lalita Mishra, Maj Usha Kumari, Maj Saumya Shukla, Maj Rachana Hooda, Lt Cdr Sino Wilson, and Flt Komal Pahuja.”
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The event was symbolizing 75 years of Independence and being a part of community activities for “Azad Amrit Mahotsav” the IAF flagged off all the women tri-services mountain team for the auspicious day. The ministry also spoke about it by saying “Mt Manirang is one of the highest peaks of Himachal Pradesh nestled at the border of Kinnaur and Spiti district. Close to The peak is the Manirang pass, which was one of the early trade routes between Spiti and Kinnaur before the motorable road was built.”
Mount Manirang is actually scaled to be around 21,625 feet and the major Saumya Shukla red eagle division has now successfully summited mount Manirang of Kinnaur. The regional PRO, Shantanu Pratap Singh said “The team will return back on August 29, 2021.” He also said, “Major Saumya Shukla is qualified for the basic and advanced mountaineering course at Army Mountaineering Institute, Siachen base camp and has performed in an outstanding manner in all mountaineering courses and expeditions thereby serving as a role model for all aspirants to the armed forces.”
Manirang being one of the highest mountains present in Himachal Pradesh lies on the border between Kinnaur, Lahaul, and Spiti district. The mountain is also known as the crown of the Spiti valley and is seen as an ultimate challenge for mountaineers. Well surely a great movement by the women Mountaineering team of India. The best part is, it comes under the list of events which were organized for celebrating the 75th independence day of the country. The fact that Manirang pass is regarded as the most remote and hardest place to cross even today is what made this news hit the headlines. Great work was all done by the women’s team in crossing this ultimate challenge successfully.
