Army’s daredevilry on display
Event showcases adventure sports to motivate youth to choose defence forces as a career.
The ‘Army Mela’ organised at Surya Khel Parisar in Lucknow cantonment on Sunday morning gave thousands of Lucknowites a rare sneak peek into the guns, tanks and other equipment being used by the forces while serving the nation.
The event, organised as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Central Command, also gave visitors a glimpse of daring stunts performed by the men in uniform.
The public as well as dignitaries from both civil and army background savoured paramotor activities, motorbike show, dog show among other adventure sports. Chief of staff, Central Command, Lt Gen AK Mishra, the chief guest of the day, was also seen enjoying the events.
The high point of the event was a riveting motorcycle expedition by the soldiers from the Army’s Corps of Signals. Led by Captain Abhayjit Mehlawat, the 27-member team, riding their well-tuned motorcycles all along the sprawling lawns, raised the adrenaline flow of all those present.
The team, aptly named Daredevils, is 45 years old. With five world records to their credit and six in the Limca Book of Records, the team has given over 1,200 such performances since 1965. A breathtaking fire display was also part of the show.
Soon after this show, helicopters came to charge the atmosphere with their manoeuvring skills followed by a sky-diving show. The paramotor expedition team of the army put up a pulsating performance, as the motor-powered paragliders were air-borne. The crowd was then overjoyed to see paratroopers descending on the ground from over 8,000 feet.
“These initiatives are aimed at exposing the youth to the way of army life and motivating them to choose the defence forces as a career,” said Lt Gen Mishra while felicitating the Daredevils.
On the other side of the ground, visitors were exploring key weapons and communication technologies including artillery cannons, machine guns, tank recovery vehicles and radars that were on display as part of the exhibition.
The best among the lot was the demonstration of the bridge laying tank-MT 55.