PANAJI: The world’s first solo motorcycle expedition undertaken by Kanchan Ugusandi, covering 18 treacherous passes in Northern Himalayan ranges culminated on Wednesday (July 07, 2021) at Seema Sadak Bhawan in New Delhi, says a press release by the Ministry of Defence.
The expedition was flagged off by Raksha Mantri, Rajnath Singh on June 11, 2021 from New Delhi. The month-long expedition witnessed many firsts by a solo woman rider. Ugusandi has become the first solo woman biker to scale the Umlingla Pass, the first woman to cover the 18 passes and also the first woman to traverse a distance of 3187 kilometres from New Delhi-Manali-Leh -Umlingla-Delhi in one go.
The expedition was jointly-flagged in by Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry and Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), SM Vaidya. Ugusandi traversed the distance in 25 days and crossed 18 passes to include the world’s highest motorable Umlingla pass at 19,300 feet made by Border Roads Organisation (BRO). On successful completion of the expedition, DGBR complemented Ugusandi for her determination and perseverance in undertaking the expedition through extremely harsh terrain and also to honour the dauntless courage and supreme sacrifice of ‘BRO Karmyogis’ for the development of road infrastructure in border areas.
The solo motorcycle expedition also played a pivotal role in promoting road and COVID-19 safety awareness in border areas. The DGBR added that this unique motorcycle expedition demonstrates the strong resolve of Indian women, who are breaking stereotypes and taking the challenges which were hitherto not undertaken. It will also signify women empowerment, he said.
