Siliguri, Dec. 1: Seven physically challenged youths will get a chance to experience the thrill of paragliding in Darjeeling on Saturday to mark the World Disability Day.
The youths from Calcutta would also get training in rock-climbing and trekking during the two-day adventure sports programme organised by an NGO.
The participants started from Calcutta yesterday and reached Darjeeling this evening after a brief halt in Siliguri.
Nantu Pal, the chairperson of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, who flagged off the group from Siliguri today, said: “Boys and girls who are not physically challenged generally participate in adventure sports. But this initiative is a welcome move to show that the disabled persons are not different from the others and they can also take part in adventure activities.”
Alipurduar MLA D.P. Roy had flagged off the group from Calcutta yesterday. The team reached Siliguri by train.
The youths, all between 25 and 30 years of age travelled to Darjeeling from Siliguri by a car.
The two-day programme is being organised by the National Institute of Professional (NIP), a Calcutta-based NGO. Tomorrow’s trekking and rock-climbing training session would be conducted by Off-Road, a adventure sports organisation in Darjeeling.
According to the organisers Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung and the party’s general secretary Roshan Giri will be present during the paragliding session on Saturday.
Of the seven team members, one youth suffers from orthopedic handicap and the rest are visually impaired.
The organisers said the team members had earlier participated in different adventure activities, including rock climbing, trekking and swimming.
“It will definitely be a challenging sport for us and we are very excited to show the others that despite our limitations, we can take part in adventure sports like any other normal person,” said Binod Kumar Singh, a 30-year-old businessman from Shyamnagar who suffers from orthopedic handicap.
Singh had taken part in the International Para Olympic Swimming Championship in Berlin in 2008.
Rana Karmakar, another member of the team, who has taken part in several state-level swimming championships, said the group members were excitited about the paragliding session.
“We are interested in gaining new experience this time by participating in an adventure sport like paragliding. We want to take part in the activities and finish them like other people who enjoy sport do,” he said.
According to a member of the NGO, the two-day trip will provide an opportunity to the youths to participate in activities from which they are normally excluded.
“People with disabilities are generally neglected and nobody wants them to get involved in adventure sports that are very popular among the masses,” said Debajyoti Roy, the secretary of NIP.
TT
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