New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) In what could serve to bring the focus on the government's Act East policy five intrepid motorcyclists have set off on a 5,000 km five-nation journey from Singapore to celebrate India's 70th Independence Day.
"After the visit of prime minister to these countries, he announced the opening of the trade route via road to promote business and tourism. Everyone started sharing this on Facebook and social platforms and it went viral.
"The adventurer in me likes to do things before anyone else, therefore the idea came in to celebrate it on the 70th Independence Day and take it to another level by chalking out a ride to include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand Myanmar and India," team leader Nikhil Kashyap told IANS in an email interview before being flagged off from the Indian High Commission in Singapore on Monday.
Riding some 300-500 km a day on a mix of 400 cc Ducati and Harley Davidson motorcycles, the team plans to enter the northeast through and after stops at Imphal, Dimapur (Nagaland), Guwahati (Assam) and Siliguri (West Bengal), conclude in the national capital on September 2.
Considerable planning has gone into the expedition.
"Travelling across borders requires endless formalities and unless one has researched thoroughly one cannot understand and follow them properly. We have good knowledge about the countries, the formalities required , the food specialties, the things that would be needed during the trip, amongst others, Kashyap said.
"Therefore, addressing the trip as professionals we have an edge because we have access to information unknown to many and have judiciously used this to our advantage," he noted.
Vikram Mehta, Bhanu Pratap Singh, Rahul Dixit and Harkirat Singh are the other members of the team.
