NEW DEHLI: America adventuress Veronique Choa has become the first woman to raft down the Brahmaputra River from its turbulent entry into India, near Bona point in Arunachal Pradesh (in northeastern India) to Passighat, where the river flows at an easy pace into the Plains of Assam (also in the north cast).

Ms. Choa was part of an Indo American team of alters which overcame tough rapids, chilly waters and stronger currents while negotiating the river in its fury, wending its way 280 km trough The Gorge in the in accessible Sian alley of Arunachal Pradesh.

The 16member tar, with famous American film maker David Mathew Dickson and young Indian rafter Akshay Kumar a joint leaders also set there cord of covering the largest stretch of white water rafting on Indian soil.

 With the successful completion of the expedition, Akshay Kumar, son of the legendary mountaineer Col. Narinder Kumar, became the first man to raft down the turbulent Brahmaputra River from Bona Bridge to Passighat twice.

Recounting the teams energy sapping 15 days, young Akshay Kumar said, “it was an awesome experience, but well worth the agony.

It was a lifetime experience come across rare Flora and Fauna and untouched cultural heritage of Arunachal Pradesh. In the course of our adventure, we had to contend with numerous grades three and four rapids. In all we negotiated 48 of them,” Akshay added,

Three are limited number of mountain streams all over the world which offer rafters four, five and six grade rapids. However, almost all Himalayan streams are full of these. Six grade rapids are normally the waterfalls which require great experience 10 negotiate, Akshay emphasized. The young adventuress, who has the distinction of rafting down Beas, Lidder, and Sindh rivers in Kashmir, said the Brahmaputra experience was “rewarding and satisfying” for both Indians and Americans.

The U S group included David Brasher, who is a name to reckon with in filming of adventure sports having twice successfully scaled the world tallest summit Mount Everest.

Brasher, in course of the 15day adventure, flagged off in January this year, made a film which would be aired on BBC and the U S television networks. This will open up a great tourism potential for Arunachal and other north eastern states.

Article extracted from this publication >> February 28, 1992