Samudragami begins amidst much fanfare

S Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs037 

The ngaithittu harbour in Puducherry was the centre of attraction recently as NCC cadets from Puducherry and Tamilnadu began their sailing expedition ‘Samudragami.’

About 25 girl cadets and 35 boy cadets from Puducherry and Tamilnadu set sailing after being flagged off by Education Minister of Puducherry  Kamalakannan in the presence of Deputy Director General NCC Directorate (Tamilnadu, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar) Commodore Malay K Kukreti and Colonel K Jayachandran, Group Commander, NCC Puducherry. 

The expedition is being organised by NCC unit of Puducherry under the aegis of NCC Directorate (TN, P and AN), Chennai. The Expedition will sail from Thengaithittu to Karaikal through Cuddalore, Parangipettai, Pazhayar, Tharangampadi and Karaikal. 

On the return leg they will sail up to Kalapet and culminate the expedition at Thengathittu thus covering a total distance of around 406 kilometres. 

During the expedition the team will be undertaking social service activities like pollution awareness drives, coastal cleaning, tree plantation and adventure activities like scuba diving and kayaking. Commodore Malay K Kukreti stressed on the importance of inculcating adventure spirit in the youth. 

MLA Djeamourthy (Ariyankuppam constituency, Puducherry) lauded the cadets for undertaking such an adventurous expedition.  Colonel K Jayachandran thanked the Education Minster and all the departments who helped in organising this mega event.

Cadets expressed their joy in getting selected for the expedition. They said that they had undergone extensive training in sailing and survival techniques before undertaking this mission.