Rajeev Mondal: Raring to go

Siliguri, Aug. 12: A 32-year-old of Burdwan is ready for a trans-Himalayan trek from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.

“This is the first time that Rajeev Mondal, a member of our organisation, — probably second in the state after Bidyut Sarkar of Calcutta — is going on a solo trekking expedition on Sunday, covering the entire stretch of the Himalayas, from Kargil to Arunachal Pradesh’s Anini, a distance of around 4,500km,” said Pradip Nag, the secretary of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (Hnaf). “It will take about nine months to one year to cover the stretch spread over seven Indian states, Nepal and Bhutan. Rajeev has already got the approval of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and other government bodies.”

Rajeev’s objective is to make people aware of global warming affecting the Himalayas. On the way, he will cross over 30 mountain passes and walk across the Zaskar range and Lahul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh, before moving to Uttarakhand. He will then enter Nepal and cover the central Himalayas before reaching Manebhanjan in Bengal.

From there, Rajeev will take the Darjeeling-Melli-Rongpo route, tour Sikkim and enter Bhutan through Samchi. From Bhutan, he will trek to reach Assam. Covering Tawang and Bhalukpong, he will conclude the trek at Anini.

Animesh Bose, the founder-coordinator of the Hnaf, said: “We will send back-up teams at certain locations to help him.”