A month-long river rafting expedition was flagged off on Sunday from the Pachi riverbank in East Kameng district.

The expedition is aimed at promoting adventure tourism in Arunachal Pradesh.

Jointly organized by the Indian Army and National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS), the expedition would witness the rafting teams explore several major rivers of the state.

The expedition team led by NIMAS director Col Sarfraz Singh includes 25 trained army rafters, rafting instructors from NIMAS and local rafters from the state.

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu took to Twitter to congratulate the team on the expedition.

“Best wishes to NIMAS team members for the epic expedition of one-month rafting in various rivers of State. Arunachal Pradesh is blessed with five major rivers apart from many tributaries. Thanks to NIMAS for helping promote adventure tourism in the state,” Khandu tweeted.

NIMAS is an autonomous institute under the Indian Ministry of Defence, which provides specialized training in mountain rescue, mountaineering and adventure sports.

The institute founded by the government of Arunachal Pradesh is located in Dirang in West Kameng district.

It is the first national institute of India mandated to conduct adventure courses in the field of land, air and aqua.

Damien Lepcha is Northeast Now Correspondent in Arunachal Pradesh. He can be reached at: [email protected]