Gumball India 2021 drive underway

ITANAGAR, 26 Dec: Twenty teams are participating in the Gumball India 2021 drive, which was flagged off from Koteshwar, Gujarat, on 24 December as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav being celebrated by the Arunachal Pradesh tourism department.

The trans-India endurance driving competition will end at Kaho village in Arunachal on 28 December, with the teams having covered 4,000 kilometres non-stop.

“This driving competition is toughest and most challenging. Apart from the requirement of non-stop driving, the teams will have to navigate through twenty secret checkpoints along the way. These points are released to competitors only at the start, and the teams have to find the best route to cover all points before reaching the finish,” organizer Incarnation Sports’ Sudev Barar informed.

The event will culminate with the hoisting of the Indian flag in Kaho village, at the border with China.

The teams also include specially-abled drivers. The team of Digvijay and Prashant, both physically handicapped, was the second to reach Guwahati (Assam) on Sunday. The first team to reach was Harman Kang and Manu Sharma from Delhi.

The objective is to reach the finish point using the shortest routes and not by going fast. All the cars are being monitored by a central tracking team and penalty will be applied for exceeding speed limits.