'Hall of fame': Anand Mahindra praises Pema Khandu’s off-roading skills on Thar
It takes a lot of skill to manoeuvre a car on a muddy patch of road unless it is an off-roader. But it's a different ballgame altogether to do it on a road full of ankle-deep slush. Even the biggest adventurists will take a lot of pride to do what Pema Khandu, chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, was seen doing in a video that quickly went viral on social media.
The video shows the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh driving a Mahindra Thar SUV while hanging on the door to pull it out of a slushy section while on a visit in his state. He can be seen deftly handling an old model of the Mahindra Thar SUV as it struggled to tackle the section. He even got down and dirty, quite literally, along with his security men to ensure the Thar is able to cross the treacherous section of the road.
Later, Pema Khandu shared the pictures and said, "The terrain and the trek (157 km) from Miao to Vijayanagar was memorable. The journey, which started from Debon on March 25 at 5 am, reached Gandhigram (137 km) the next day for a night's rest and the next day left for Vijayanagar."
No wonder, the video took social media by storm, with a lot of people completely surprised by this unseen side of the chief minister. Among them was Mahindra Group's Chairman Anand Mahindra himself.
Anand Mahindra wrote on Twitter, “I think we need to create a Hall of Fame of those owners who know how to ‘Explore the Impossible’ with their Thars. Thar Pehelwans. Tharwans? Give me a better name. And I nominate Mr. Khandu straightaway for inclusion in the Hall of Fame!"
Khandu was on his way to Vijayanagar, a remote settlement in the state, to meet people of the Yobin tribe. The place is still not connected by any motorable road. Vijayanagar can only be reached only by air. It has an advanced landing ground which is used by fighter jets and large transport planes. The Indian Air Force and the Indian Army upgraded this landing ground in 2019.Khandu has assured that he will soon have a motorised road paved for this part of the state to benefit the locals and help create employment opportunities.
