The second-edition of the Asean-India Car Rally, which started its journey from Indonesia on November 26, arrived here on Sunday.
The car rally comprising 31 vehicles earlier entered Assam on Sunday after a night halt at Kohima in Nagaland. The deputy commissioner of Golaghat, who received the participants of the rally on behalf of the Assam government at the border near Nambor Reserve Forest, also accorded a grand welcome to the delegates of eight Asean countries who successfully completed the expedition in 23 days, covering a distance of 7,816 km.
The eight Asean countries involved are Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Burma.
The rallyists, which include among others BJP Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay and the oldest participant, 73-year-old Subhas Chandra from New Delhi, also took part in a tea plantation programme organised by Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) at Golaghat.
The car rally, which will come to an end on Monday with a flag-down ceremony at the Sarusajai Stadium, was also welcomed at the Kaziranga National Park by a cavalcade of elephants. Local people, mostly schoolchildren, waved flags of the participating countries.
The second edition of the Asean-India Car Rally 2012, has been jointly organised by the ministry of external affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), began its journey on November 26 at Yogyakarta in Indonesia with a flag-off at Singapore.
The car rally, which is also organised to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Asean-India, entered India at Moreh in Manipur.
Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi, who accorded a warm welcome to the ralliest at Imphal, said, “This car rally will go a long way in highlighting the long-standing link between India and Asean countries, the road connectivity and people-to-people contact.”