Agartala, Mar 21, 2023, IANS

Agartala, March 21 (IANS): The Indian Army would hold a 20-day long pan North East Car Rally 'Purvottar Bharat Parikrama' to reach out to the youths, freedom fighters, gallantry award winners besides common people in the mountainous region.

To celebrate 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', the rally, covering approximately 5,000 km in eight northeastern states, would be flagged off by Army's Eastern Command chief Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita in Fort Williams, Kolkata on Wednesday.

Defence spokesman Lt. Col Mahendra Rawat said that the rally, which would comprise of 38 members, 10 vehicles, would cover around 5,000 km over 20 days across eight states - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

"The initiative aims to reach out to the youths, freedom fighters, gallantry award winners and common men to share their experiences and to develop a meaningful connection for inclusive development of India," Lt. Col Rawat said.

He said that the car rally aims to augment bonhomie with the local populace and highlight the cultural heritage of northeast India to the world. The car rally promises a positive outcome to the masses by channelising the thought process towards the spirit of independent India, national integration and builds an inclusive mindset in local youth, the Defence spokesman pointed out.

As part of the "Purvottar Bharat Parikrama", several events have been planned which include paying homage to freedom fighters and fallen heroes, information campaign on avenues to join Indian Army, and outreach program for youth, students, families of the fallen heroes, ex-servicemen and 'Veer Naris'.

The car rally is being conducted in collaboration with North East council under the Ministry of Department of North Eastern Region (DoNER).