Amidst a ceremony at the Army Headquarters in Kathmandu on Tuesday, the joint team was flagged off by Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Gaurav Shumsher Rana. [break]CoAS Rana handed the flag to team leaders Major Sunil Singh Rathor of Nepal Army and Major Ranabir Singh Jamwal of Indian Army.
Sixty year ago Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary had reached the top of the Mt Everest. "Since then many expeditors from across the world have climbed to the peak, leaving tons of garbage along the way. We will try to bring back as much waste as we can," Major Rathor said.
In the seventy-day long expedition, 13 members of Nepal Army and 12 members of Indian Army will head for the peak and the rest would assist them, liaison officer Captain Nabin Kumar Khadka told Republica.
We expect to collect 9 to 10 tons of garbage that may include some dead bodies, Khadka said.
The team will head toward the base camp on Thursday and try to summit the peak by mid-May. This is a very unique expedition of Nepal and Indian Army as both the armies are jointly climbing the peak and cleaning the routes, team leader and Major Jamwal of Indian Army said. The weather might be the major challenge during the expedition, he said, adding, but we will jointly overcome any challenges.
CoAS Rana said that the joint expedition would not only strengthen the relation between the two armies but also test their endurance, while helping to clean the environment.
The team will participate in High Altitude Marathon (64km), according to Directorate of Public Relation of Nepal Army.
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