03-08-2025
Army Medical Corps doctor from Metturu shows mettle
VISAKHAPATNAM: 'I am just a girl from a small village named Metturu in Srikakulam. If I could make it here, so can anyone,' says Major Kavitha Vasupalli, a doctor with the Army Medical Corps serving at MH Wellington. From saving lives as a medical officer in the Army to navigating one of the world's most dangerous rivers, Maj. Kavitha has shown that determination and courage can take a person far beyond the boundaries.
In February this year, she became the only woman to complete a 1,040-kilometre rafting expedition on the mighty Brahmaputra River, a feat that earned her a place in the World Book of Records (London). The expedition, conducted under the leadership of Col. Ranveer Singh Jamwal, SM, VSM & Bar, a Tenzing Norgay Awardee and the first Indian to climb all the highest peaks of India, took the team through high-grade rapids and remote terrains, from the Indo-Tibetan border in Arunachal Pradesh to the Indo-Bangladesh border.
'The Brahmaputra was magnificent, but it was also merciless,' she recalls. 'One day, a giant wave hit us with such force that our raft flipped. In those few seconds, we were completely underwater, unsure if we'd come out alive. But we didn't panic. We trusted our training. We held on to each other. And we survived. That moment showed me how thin the line is between life and death and how powerful courage and calmness can be,' she expressed.
