BCIM Car Rally 2013 - Day 1 - The Flag-Off

The first day of the much awaited first edition of the BCIM Car Rally from Kolkata to Kunming was truly amazing. A day before the rally was scheduled to begin, we arrived in Kolkata and checked into our hotel. The excitement began to build as BCIM Car Rally t-shirts and badges were already being distributed. All the team members present were then given a small brief on what was in store for them for the next few days, which was followed by a press conference.

Pre-Event Press Conference

JS, PD with team member from Bangladesh

Joint Secretary Public Diplomacy Division, Ms. Riva G Das along with key organizers presented mementos to the rally participants, which was followed by dinner.

On Day 1, everyone was waiting to get into their cars and hit the road. We were at the venue by around 10:30am, and the cars were all lined up ready for a 12 day journey across 4 countries. The opening remarks were given by Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee (Director General, CII). We were then addressed by Mr. K S Jamestin, Mr Adi Godrej and Shri Madan Mitra. We were also addressed by Smt Mamta Banerjee (Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal) and the vote of thanks was provided by Mr R K Agrawal. Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for, the Flag Off, was scheduled for 13:45pm.

Flag-Off

The BCIM Car Rally drove towards the border of Bangladesh, which was 70kms away from the venue, where we received a warm welcome. This was followed by a 40km drive to the destination for the day, Jessore. We got to witness a beautiful cultural programme put together by the students from Jessore, followed by a delicious Bangladeshi dinner.

India - Bangladesh - The Petrapole Border

After a long fun filed day of travelling, we called it a night and went back to our hotel rooms, looking forward to the next day's travel to the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka.