Madras Sappers to hold e-bike rally to mark 25th yr of Kargil victory

CHENNAI: The Madras Engineer Group, one of the oldest Engineer

Group of the Indian Army, will flag off an e-bike rally from four cities on November 16

with an aim to connect with its veterans in commemoration of its 244th Raising Day

and the 25th anniversary of the Kargil victory.

The rally, which is slated to be flagged from four cities--Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram,

Belagavi and Hyderabad--will traverse through the five southern Indian states and converge

in Bengaluru on November 22, where it would be flagged in by Lt Gen Arvind Walia,

Engineer-in-Chief of the Madras Sappers, as it is known informally.

While re-kindling old bonds, a team of Records Madras Engineers Group (MEG)

accompanying the rally will conduct a veterans' outreach programme at eight different

pit stops enroute, viz Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli on November 16, at Madurai and

Trichy on 17, at Tiruvannamalai and Vellore on November 18, at Chittoor in Andhra

Pradesh and Kolar in Karnataka on November 19, a defence release on Wednesday

said.

Veterans of other regiments and their dependents can also reap advantage of the

initiative wherein they will be assisted to find `on the spot solution' for most of their

queries and grievances related to documentation and pension through SPARSH

initiative of the Ministry of Defence.

Many prominent personalities, civil dignitaries and senior retired officers of the

Defence Forces are likely to attend the functions to connect with the veterans as

a tribute to their contribution to the nation.

Riding on e-bikes, provided by market leader Ultra Violette Automotive, the rally

also intends to spread the message of environmental conservation by use of

sustainable energy solutions, among the masses.