Rain Couldn’t Stop Them: 247 NCC Cadets Finish Itanagar Training Camp Against All Monsoon Odds

When the skies threw everything they had at Arunachal Pradesh this monsoon season, 247 young NCC cadets decided that wasn’t reason enough to stay home.

These cadets — drawn from across the state’s remote corners — braved washed-out roads, dangerous detours, and relentless rainfall to make it to Itanagar for the Combined Annual Training Camp (CATC-68) and Yuva Aapda Mitra Scheme (YAMS) programme. The 10-day camp, held from June 24 to July 3 at Rajiv Gandhi Government Polytechnic College (RGGPC), wrapped up on Thursday — and the stories of how some of these kids even reached the venue deserve as much attention as the training itself.

Not Just a Camp — A Test Before the Test Even Began

Getting to Itanagar this time of year is no joke. Roads in Arunachal Pradesh during the monsoon can turn nightmarish within hours — landslides, flooded bridges, routes blocked for days. Many cadets had to take lengthy alternate routes just to show up. That kind of grit, honestly, already says something about the kind of youth Arunachal is producing.

The camp was organised by the 1 Arunachal Pradesh Battalion NCC, operating under the NCC Group Headquarters in Tezpur, with a dedicated team of 10 military personnel, four Associate NCC Officers (ANOs), and one Caretaker Officer on the ground.

Drills, Discipline, and a Whole Lot More

Inside the camp, there was little room to relax. Cadets were put through rigorous military-style routines — physical training, fieldcraft, battlecraft, small-arms firing, musketry, weapon handling displays, and sword drills. Yoga sessions and motivational talks from distinguished personalities were woven in as well, keeping morale high even as the monsoon hammered the region outside.

Brigadier Mayank Vaid, Commander of the NCC Group Headquarters in Tezpur, visited the camp and interacted directly with the cadets. He didn’t just show up for the photo opportunity — he acknowledged the real effort these young people had put in just to be there, commending them for their commitment in the face of some genuinely difficult conditions.

Trained to Respond When Disasters Strike

Perhaps the most relevant component of this year’s camp, given the flooding currently battering several districts of Arunachal Pradesh, was the Yuva Aapda Mitra Scheme training. Certified instructors from the Arunachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) took cadets through disaster preparedness, emergency response protocols, and rescue operations — all specifically tailored to the threats the region faces most: floods, cloudbursts, and earthquakes.

In a state that loses roads, bridges, and sometimes lives every single monsoon season, training a generation of young responders is not just good policy — it’s urgent.

Survival Day, Fun Day, and a Meal Worth Remembering

The camp closed on a warm note. Organisers held a ‘Survival Day’ and a ‘Fun Day’ to cap the training — giving cadets a chance to bond, celebrate, and share traditional cuisines from their different home districts. For a state as culturally diverse as Arunachal, that last bit matters more than it might seem. It’s a reminder that these cadets come from different valleys, different communities, different languages — but they trained together, pushed through the same bad weather, and crossed the finish line as one.

That, in itself, is worth celebrating.

— Naitik
Abotani TV

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