Gondwanaland Expedition hits last leg

Maputo, June 17 (UNI) The Gondwanaland Expedition from India to Cape Agulhus in South Africa entered its last leg when it reached Mozambique.

The expedition, which was flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in April, reached Maputo yesterday after traversing the entire length of the Great Rift Valley from Syria to Mozambique.

Earilier, in Harare, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe received the expedition members, who include seismologists and anthropologists.

''President Mugabe took a keen interest in the scientific objectives of the expedition and arranged for a special presentation to be made before the National Research Council by the expedition scientists,'' said Akhil Bakshi, the expedition leader.

Zimbabwe has recently been rocked by earthquakes and Mr Mugabe asked the Zimbabwean adminstrators and scientists to learn from the Indian experience in management of natural disasters, he added.

The expedition members presented Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's goodwill message to President Mugabe.

In its last lap the expedition, which has already travelled through Iran, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Egypt among other countries, will pass through Swaziland and South Africa before terminating at Cape Agulhus, the southernmost tip of Africa.

The team will fly back from Cape Town, arriving in Mumbai on June 28.

The Gondwanaland Expedition aims to study the two continents of Asia and Africa, once believed to be part of a single landmass.

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