Uttarakhand: Few facts about NIM whose students are trapped in avalanche

According to latest reports, eight students have so far been rescued and a massive search operation is underway to rescue the remaining.

Over 20 students belonging to Nehru Mountaineering Institute (NIM) are feared trapped in an avalanche that reportedly hit Draupadi’s Danda in Uttarkashi of Uttarakhand. According to latest reports, eight students have so far been rescued and a massive search operation is underway to rescue the remaining.

The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, located in Uttarkashi, was established on November 14, 1965. (source: Twitter/@nim_india) (file)

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and a team of mountaineers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering are taking part in rescue operation.

NIM is one of the top-ranked institutes in the country for mountaineering and sports climbing. Here’s more on the institute in focus currently over latest tragedy in Uttarakhand.

- The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, located in Uttarkashi, was established on November 14, 1965, to fulfil the desire of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, himself an ardent mountain lover.

- The apex body under which the institute functions is Indian Mountaineering foundation.

- It was originally located on the campus of the Provincial Armed Constabulary Campus at Gyansu on the north bank of the Bhagirathi river. Later, it was shifted to its current location in the Ladari Reserve Forest.

- The current location is close to the Gangotri region in western Garhwal. The campus is spread over almost seven hectares of prime forest land and headed by an officer by the ministry of Defence.

- NIM is the only mountaineering institute in India certified by the international federation for climbing and mountaineering.