Army concluded the 500 km Chindits Trail Expedition near Narsinghpur on Friday. The expedition traversed nearly 500 km across the Vindhya Ranges between Betwa and Ken Rivers and culminated on Friday on the banks of Narmada River.
The expedition was flagged off by lieutenant General DR Soni, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Indian Army’s Southern Command in the presence of lieutenant General IS Ghuman, General Officer Commanding Sudarshan Chakra Corps on February 16, 2018 at Babina.
The expedition was conducted in four phases, each undertaken by a team of two Officers, two Junior Commissioned Officers and twenty Other Ranks, who covered approximately 125 km in five days during each phase. The Chindits Trail seeks to commemorate 75 years of training carried out by the Chindits in Central India in preparation for their operations in Burma during Second World War.
The expedition started from Deogarh on February 17, close to the historic Chanderi Fort, moved through the dense jungle of Malthone and crossed the Dhasan River, a tributary of Betwa River. Thereafter, it moved further East towards the Ken River, along the Northern fringes of the Vindhyas. As the temperatures rose during the day, part of the distance was done by night, affording cover and simulating the infiltration operations carried out by the Chindits.
As they crossed the Panna Tiger Reserve on the steep escarpment overlooking the Ken River, a tributary of Yamuna with the mounting heat in the day, the mettle of the men was severely tested, adding to their grit and determination. Moving along Southern fringes of Vindhyas towards Narmada River, the team reached the famous Singorgarh Fort, near Singrampur, where Rani Durgawati had waged an epic battle with the Mughal forces in 1564. Drawing inspiration, the final phase of the execution moved through the Rani Durgawati and Nauradehi Wild life Sanctuaries and climbed the highest point in the Vindhyas, Mount Sadbhavna (Goodwill) at 752 meters, culminating on the banks of Narmada.
During the course of 21 days, the expedition went across the lalitpur District of Uttar Pradesh and Tikamgarh, Chattarpur, Panna, Damoh and Jabalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. Carrying individual battle loads of 25-30 Kgs, the expedition was entirely self-contained and learnt to survive off-the-land using local resources.