They Did It

"Girls sink gender bias in Mahanadi" was the headline of The New Indian Express , when four girls, studying in under graduation classes in Orissa started an expedition to tame the Mahanadi River by covering 297 km on a raft in 7days.They are Rajashree Mohapatra (16), a plus two student of Chandol college in Kendrapada , Rosalini Pattnaik (28) , an LLB student from Khurda, Rosalini Behera, (18) a plus three student of Puri's A D College, and Sonaphoola Sabar (18), a plus three student of Nuapada College . The girls, coming from different backgrounds and having a zest for adventure, participated in the first-ever Women Mahanadi River Rafting Expedition started under the guidance of Rabindra Kumar Bhuiyan , the director of National Adventure Foundation (Orissa Chapter) in the State, who coached the rafters. It is also aimed at promoting river rafting as an adventure sport. The expedition which started from Sambalpur on August 12 and ended on Tuesday.
Since 1997, boys have been always participating in the rafting expedition to Paradip along the Mahanadi from the picturesque Baliput (Satkosia) by covering a distance of 270 km in seven days.But this time the girls crushed the boy’s record by covering 297 km in 7 days. The girls decided to challenge them and proposed their coach for a rafting expedition on the Mahanadi from Sambalpur to Paradip with a deadline to cover a distance of 296 km in seven days. Seeing their enthusiasm, the coach went ahead with the proposal and the rafting expedition started on August 12, as reported by Orissadiary.com

The site adds: “The girls informed that they had to face lot of difficulties during the expedition and especially when three of the crew members fell from the raft at Ghanteswari. However, nothing happened as they were wearing life-saving jackets and our coach was able to rescue them, they added……..We enjoyed each and every moment of the expedition as it was an adventure sports and most of us were first-timers, said Rajashree Mohapatra. The expedition proved the unflagging stamina and determination of the girls, said Bhuiyan. The team reached at Kalapada in Kendrapada on Monday and the expedition culminated at Paradip on Tuesday.”