SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, June 30: In a first, Pranay Sinha, (26), a resident of Ranchi, became the only man from Jharkhand to ever ride on the Umling La Pass in Ladakh on June 21, as per data released by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Notably, Umling La Pass is known for being the highest motorable road in the world.
The road was recently completed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). Built at a height of 19300 ft, this road passes Umlingla Pass in Eastern Ladakh. This 52-km stretch is a black-topped road that connects several important towns in the Chumar sector of Eastern Ladakh.
Sinha, a former merchant navy officer and presently the owner of an automobile business, is also a biker and has a passion for travelling to all the impossible motorable regions in the country.
His first ride was to the Royal Enfield reunion east 2017 to Darjeeling, which he says had him hooked. He soon put several solo rides under his belt in 2017 and 2018. He even did a solo tour of north Sikkim thrice and visited Sikkim again twice with groups. In 2018, he also went solo for a ride to Bhutan.
Talking about the ride to Umling La, Sinha said the ride was special for him as this was the first bike from Jharkhand that had been taken to the road. Starting from New Delhi on June 7, he reached the pass at 19,024 feet on June 21.
Notably, the altitude of the road is even higher than the base camps of Mount Everest, as the North Base Camp in Tibet stands at an altitude of 16900 ft, while the South Base Camp in Nepal sits at an altitude of 17598 ft.
Sinha travelled from Delhi to Kufri (Himachal Pradesh) to Nako. Then he went to Kaza, Keylong, Jispa, Darcha, Sinku La, Kurgiakh, Purne, Padum (Zanskar Valley).
For people not familiar with the areas in the region, Zanskar Valley that was opened to the public is one of the toughest off-road terrains in India.
He then travelled through Zangla, Lingshed, Leh, and Hanle. Hanle has the highest observatory of ISRO.
Notably, a permit is needed from the local DC if people want to travel from Hanle to Umling La. Sinha had to take a similar permission before he reached his destination in Umling La on June 21. He returned on the same day, and in all is said to have covered a total of 4500 kms.
