Pune: A team of around 50 mountaineers left from Pune on Sunday evening as part of an eco-expedition to Mount Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world.The city-based trekking group Giripremi organized the expedition. Umesh Zirpe, the trek leader, told TOI that this is the first biggest civilian expedition from India organized at Kangchenjunga. Of the total trekkers, eleven will scale the mountain peak to collect samples from there.“The most unique aspect about this trip is that it is an eco-expedition. This means we will collect samples from the base camp as well as while scaling the mountain. The samples will include soil, botanical varieties, algae, among others,” Zirpe said.He added the aim is to boost research as there are hardly any samples from the area available to scientists and scholars. “We will bring the samples back and supply them to institutes such as Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), Agarkar Research Institute, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, among others, so they can analyze them and publish scientific papers,” Zirpe said.The team departed from Pune at 6.30pm and will reach Kathmandu on Monday. They will return to Pune in the first week of June. Their mountain trek will start from April 6. The expedition members will collect soil samples, diatoms, microbes and flowers from the Kangchenjunga region in a scientific manner.“The coordinates of each of the collected samples will be recorded. Each institute collaborating with us has sent us scientific requirements for the samples and we have allotted a budget,” he said.Avinash Kandekar, assistant professor of the SPPU’s department of geography and the in-charge of Giripremi’s eco project, said this is the first time that samples will be collected from atop the mountain.“Around four institutes will benefit from this collaboration and it will lead to interesting results. It is definitely of great scientific impact. There are only three to four papers about glaciers in the area, but now we are trying to study other aspects in the area,” he said.

Stay updated with all the Pune Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.