NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, FEB 16
Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday flagged off the first ever All Woman Officers Offshore Sailing Expedition of the Indian Army from the Chennai Port, says a Defence release.
The sailing will reach Visakhapatnam and return to Chennai.
She complimented the Military College of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers (MCEME), Secunderabad, EME Sailing Association, the Southern Command Sailing Node and the Army Adventure Wing for conducting such an event for the first time ever, and said that it demonstrates the strength and vigour of Woman Officers in the Indian Army.
Tamilisai said, “The first-of-its- kind expedition is bound to have a tremendous impact in the arena of Sailing as a sport and a much greater impact on the Women of this great Nation and our Armed Forces. As the days go by, the identity & resolve of the Indian Women becomes stronger and fiercer, vanquishing all pre-conceived notions and discarding all taboos.”
The Governor added that Indian women are shattering all possible glass ceilings and are making their own mark and are bravely setting new benchmarks. They are courageously setting an example for others to emulate, said the Governor. She said that the expedition would not only give an impetus to Sailing as a sport, but would also inspire and motivate young girls to don the olive greens and serve the nation.
Lt Gen TSA Narayanan, Commandant MCEME and Colonel Commandant, Corps of EME who is also the Commodore EME Sailing Association and President of the Laser Class and Kite Board Associations of India, congratulated the Woman Officers for having completed the gruelling training and being selected for the expedition. He highlighted the significance of the expedition and said that the event is yet another step towards women empowerment and the sustained efforts towards enhancing the role of Woman Officers in the Indian Army.
Majors Mukta S Gautam from the Corps of EME is leading the momentous expedition with the team comprising Majors Priya Semwal, Priya Das, Rashmi Sangwan, Arpita Dwivedi and Sanjana Mittal and Captains Jyoti Singh, Malvika Rawat, Shubham Solanki and Sonal Goyal. The Officers have been trained in blue water sailing and have undergone rigorous training under the tutelage of EME Sailing Association and HBTC Marve, before embarking on the expedition.
The EME Sailing Association at MCEME has been at the forefront of promoting Sailing and has carved a unique niche for itself. Apart from creating innumerable Sailors of national and international repute, EME Sailing Association has also undertaken a large number of offshore sailing expeditions over the last two decades, like the Mumbai-Kochi expedition in J24 Boats in 2009, the Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai expedition in Seabird class boats in 2017, and the ‘Indian Army Around the Indian Peninsula Offshore Sailing Expedition’ in the year 2018.
In addition to the esteemed guests of honour, Lt Gen A Arun General Officer Commanding, Dakshin Bharat Area, Officials from Indian Navy and Coast Guard and Chennai Port Trust attended the flagging off ceremony.
Sailing was organized under the aegis of Army Adventure Wing Southern Command Sailing Node and EME Sailing Association. Sailing is a sport in which there is enormous scope for the Indian Army and India as a Nation to do well, especially if young women sailors could be motivated to join the sport. Towards this objective, an All Army All Women Officers Sailing Expedition (Chennai-Vizag-Chennai) is being undertaken for the first time in the history of the Indian Army.
