Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi attended the golden jubilee celebration of Assam Mountaineering Association at a function held at District Library in Guwahati on Saturday and remembered the grit and gusto of yesteryear mountaineers for transforming mountaineering into an adventure sports and adventure tourism.
Congratulating the association for having traversed the journey of 50 years, the Governor said that the resolve shown by Assam Mountaineering Association have the potential of inculcating the spirit of adventure and discipline among the youth and help them to develop team spirit.
Expressing his happiness, Prof. Mukhi said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be with you on the auspicious occasion of golden jubilee celebration of Northeast India’s pioneer adventure sports organization. When I went through the glorious past and the present activities of Assam Mountaineering Association, I feel surprised of the fact that way back in 1967, few youths from Assam had thought about mountaineering and other adventure sports and their sagacity has yielded in founding Assam Mountaineering Association in the year 1968. My congratulations to the founding fathers and present members of the Association on this occasion.”
The Governor also expressed happiness to learn that Assam Mountaineering Association has received ‘Certificate of Excellence’, awarded by Assam Tourism, for the promotion of adventure sports and tourism on the occasion of World Tourism Day 2016.
The Association is also promoting sport climbing, which is now an Olympic event, Prof Mukhi added.
The Governor also extended his gratitude to all office bearers and members of Assam Mountaineering Association for their selfless and dedicated service in promotion of adventure sports and adventure tourism and wished them all luck for their future endeavour and assured them to extend all possible support.
Prof Mukhi at the same time remembered with fondness the grit and determination of the persons like late Rohini Kumar Bhuyan and others who in spite of all challenges and adversities took the mountaineering head on and brought the sports to its present stature.
The Governor also felicitated Kunchuk Tempa who scaled the Mt Everest for the second time without oxygen and Monty Rajkhowa, the first Assamese to scale Mount Kanchenjunga.
President of Indian Mountaineering Foundation Col H S Chauhan, chairman of Indian Mountaineering Foundation K N Damoo, president of Assam Mountaineering Association Kishore Kumar Baruah, ex-president Swapnanil Baruah along with other dignitaries were present in the function.