Assam Rifles' Motorbike rally reaches Tripura

Agartala, March 23 (ANI): Assam Rifles, one of India's oldest paramilitary forces, is celebrating its 175th anniversary by organizing a Motorcycle Peace Rally from New Delhi to Shillong in Meghalaya, which reached here on Tuesday (March 23).

The objective of the rally is to garner goodwill and spread the message of peace and harmony in the insurgency affected states of the North East.

On Tuesday, the 30 Assam Rifles personnel, an officer, a commissioned officer and 28 jawans, participating in the rally reached Agartala through National Highway 44.

The rally was flagged off in Agartala by Tripura Governor Dr. D.Y. Patil on Tuesday after covering Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur.

On this occasion, a cultural programme was also organised before flagging off the rally from the 21 Sector Assam Rifles.

From Tripura, the team is scheduled to travel through the remote area of Kanchanpur to Mizoram state. The rally is to cover about 2,500 kilometers. On March 28, it will be flagged in marking its culmination in Meghalaya's capital Shillong.

Bikers from the 'Sentinels of the Northeast', the Assam Rifles, have undertaken a journey to strengthen brotherhood and generate a sense of security among the northeast people that the Rifles are always out there to protect them.

"The main aim of this Motorcycle Peace Rally is to travel the whole of north-east and go to the remotest of the areas and interact with people there. We are out there to share our happiness with them. Also through this rally we are spreading a message of peace in all the states of the northeastern region. Till now, wherever we have travelled people have welcomed us wholeheartedly," said Captain Debadesh, the bikers' team leader.

Debadesh said that the team visited schools and colleges in different states to interact and motivate the youth there. Various sports activities were organized during their trip.

The unit can trace its lineage back to a paramilitary police force that was formed under the British in 1835 called Cachar Levy.

Assam Rifles now has 46 battalions, 15 of which are deployed along the Indo-Myanmar border. Each battalion comprises around 1,000 personnel. By Pinaki Das (ANI)