OdishaLIVE Bureau
Susanta Kumar Das, an adventure enthusiast from the smart city is all set to take his team on a trek to RoopKund in Gharwal at the foot of the Himalayas. Shrouded in mystery, the `place is breathtaking with abundance of natural beauty. It lies on the lap of Mt. Trishul and Mt. Nanda ghunti.
A shallow lake, with a depth of about two metres, Roopkund has attracted attention because of the ancient human skeletal remains that are visible at its bottom when the snow melts. Roop kund is a high altitude glacier lake (Tarn) in the Chamoli district of Uttrakhand State and is locally known as ‘Mystery or Skeleton Lake’.
Das, who is also the secretary of Odisha Sport Climbing Association (OSCA), is taking a team of eight trekkers on Mission RoopKund to explore the untouched biodiversity of the area and create awareness among trekkers to conserve the rich area and not leave any garbage behind.
RoopKund is a popular trekking destination famous for the remains of thousands of human skeletons whose origin is still unknown. Many theories and opinions ranging from purely spiritual to scientific ones attempt to explain the origin of these skeletons, which date back to 9th century A.D. (1200 years old). Some say that they belong to Japanese soldiers who died here during World War II.
Studies have determined that they are of people from an Indian tribe, who died here in the 9th century because of a severe hailstorm. Because of the human remains, the lake has been called skeleton lake in recent times. Mr. Das and his team aim to educate people to keep the Himalayas green and clean and to protect the skeletal remains for the others to witness and study the mystery in future.
“Since a decade, I have made it my life’s mission to promote the spirit of adventure, discipline, team-spirit and leadership among the youth and women of our state. I have been able to promote and undertake such expeditions successfully in spite of the hazards involved” says Mr. Das to OdishaLIVE.
Some of his notable endeavours include; Mission Sakhyam held in the year 2010 where ten visually impaired boys of Odisha had participated in Saurkundi Pass (12,900ft.)
Mission Shikhar held in the year 2012 where five differently abled persons from Odisha had participated in an expedition to Mt. Stok Kangri (20,172ft.) in Leh-Ladakh region and proved that disability has no disadvantage for them and Mission Zanskar held in the year 2014 where four brave hearts from Odisha including a girl participated in frozen Zanskar River trek covering a distance of 72 kms in extreme weather condition where mercury dropped to -400 C and created an illusion of mini Antarctica.
OdishaLIVE Editor-in-Chief Mr. Nilambar Rath wishes them all the best on their noble endeavour and wills for a safe return of the team.
