CHENNAI: In a bid to motivate the youth across South India to join the Indian Army, the Officer’s Training Academy, organised a Motorcycle Expedition that was flagged off from its campus at St Thomas Mount, early on Monday morning. The team of 10, which included two officers, six gentlemen and two lady cadets will cover a distance of 2,200 kilometres in 11 days to tell people in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry about OTA's achievements from their fifty years of existence. The expedition will also carry the message of environmental conservation by urging people they meet to practice afforestation and rain water harvesting. It is also part of the many events planned to mark their year-long golden jubilee celebration, that have included training, education, sports, adventure, social relief initiatives and the cultural events.The expedition will travel across the South Eastern and South Western Coast and make stops at Puducherry, Rameswaram, Kanya Kumari, Trivandrum, Cochin, Ezhimala, Mysore and Bangalore. As they are on a tight schedule they will be breezing through smaller towns without halting for too long. The team is expected to return on March 31“We are going on this type of an expedition for the first time. And just in case there is an emergency, we also have a back up plan,” said Captain Mandar Patek. The expedition was flagged off by Lt Gen SS Jog, Commandant, OTA. Apart from the officers of OTA, family members of the team participating in the expedition also proudly cheered them on and waved ‘all the best’ to the team. “Though I am slightly afraid of him riding a two-wheeler for such a long time across such a distance, I know he will do his best and he will obviously keep in touch with me throughout the tour. This expedition is important as OTA is not as popular in other South Indian states, as it is in Tamil Nadu, ” said a smiling Prachi, wife of Captain Mandar Patek.
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