Mumbai: Fitistan's Kargil War tribute challenge promotes fitness, remembrance

Where there is a Tiger Hill, there is a way say Shilpa Bhagat and Major S Poonia. Pic/Aditi Haralkar

The country will mark a sombre day on May 3. The Kargil War started on that day in 1999 and ended after 85 days on July 26, 1999. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Kargil War. "If they gave their blood, can we not give our sweat?" asked Shilpa Bhagat co-founder of a movement called ‘Fitistan - Ek Fit Bharat' at the announcement of a Kargil-specific community fitness initiative - The SBI Kargil Tiger Hill Challenge - at a press conference in Lower Parel on Tuesday morning.

Fitistan has launched a tribute through a fitness initiative to honour 527 Indian brave hearts who died in the war. It also remembers all those who have been grievously injured in the fighting and families who have lost their loved ones. Major Dr Surendra Poonia, Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) awardee, ex-special forces, said at the announcement, "The Kargil Tiger Hill challenge is to recall the bravery of our armed forces and pay tribute to the soldiers who laid down their lives in battle."

High-five-85

As part of the fitness challenge, participants (it is open to all) need to register by signing up for free and downloading an app. Then, through 85 days broken up into different phases, they need to complete 6,30,000 steps overall, by walking. On completion, participants will receive an e-certificate, signed by Param Vir Chakra Yogendra Singh Yadav. There is also a medal and t-shirt component to the challenge, where people need to pay for registration if they opt for the same. All details can be had via the website https://www.fitistan.com/ and there is also a link for the app (https://app.fitistan.com/#/login).

Phase ways

Poonia explained the phases of the challenge. "Phase 1: Preparation of Kargil War; Phase 2: March to Kargil; Phase 3: Assault on Tiger Hill; and Phase 4: On top of Tiger Hill. A set number of steps have to be completed in each phase," he said. Bhagat added, "This is a cause which is very close to the heart. It is an attempt to bring soldiers closer to the citizens."

Major Poonia said, "As we mark the Kargil anniversary, I see India moving towards a health and fitness revolution. I also want to create a mindset in which our people are always conscious and aware of the sacrifices and struggles of our defence personnel. It should not be a temporary memory or awakening on some days."

Step-pep

Registration for the event started on April 22 and ends on June 25. Participants can join any time during this period, but need to complete their step goals by July 26. Poonia said, "We already have 4,500 participants registered as of now for this pan-India event. Fitistan has designed a web-based application which the participants can sync with their current fitness app and record their activity.

The app syncs with some of the popular fitness apps including Google Fit & FitBit. Participants can track their progress through the leader board." The Kargil Tiger Hill Challenge takes its name from one of the most difficult battles fought for this peak. Tiger Hill is a mountain in the Drass-Kargil area of Ladakh, India. It is one of the highest peaks in the area and has great strategic relevance.

More details on website
https://www.fitistan.com/