Orange 4x4 Fury brings motorsport to remote Arunachal village

Dambuk (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], December 26 : Till a few years ago, the picturesque Dambuk village by the banks of the Dibang River in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Dibang Valley would remain cut off from the rest of the country, and the world, for nearly eight months every year.
The eighth edition of one of India's most spectacular off-roading events the Orange 4x4 Fury was held at the Orange Festival of Adventure and Music (OFAM) at Dambuk, Arunachal Pradesh from December 15-17, 2022, a release said.
The event was a part of the annual Orange Festival of Adventure and Music (OFAM), hosted at the quaint village of Dambuk on the banks of the Dibang river and in the foothills of the mighty Eastern Himalayas surrounding Arunachal Pradesh.
The Northeast state bordering Tibet receives copious amounts of rain for nearly eight months a year. Consequently, the swollen rivers around Dambuk would render this small town virtually inaccessible. Dambuk, for all practical purposes, remained like an island reachable only by boats for most of the year.
Things were not easier during the dry winter months either. The absence of bridges spanning the rivers meant arduous drives through boulder and rock-strewn treacherous river beds. Driving to Dambuk from Assam meant taking one's vehicle across the Brahmaputra on a ferry to land at Pasighat and then embarking on a gruelling drive over riverbeds, dirt tracks through hills and rickety bamboo bridges over fast-flowing streams. The journey from Dibrugarh, the nearest airport in Assam, to Dambuk was a nearly day-long adventure.
Connectivity to this remote part of the Northeast has developed following a considerable advancement in infrastructure in recent years owing mostly to the annual Orange Festival of Adventure and Music (OFAM) at Dambuk that started way back in 2014 with support from JK Tyre. It became a festival to look out for within a very short span of time, drawing musicians, music lovers, adventure seekers, off-roaders, revellers and large media contingents from across the country.
This year saw bands from across the globe, namely Romeo Blanco from Belgium, Swanky Tunes from Russia, Big Mountain, and Flipside from the USA along with national bands like Still Waters from Sikkim, Kayan from Mumbai, to name a few. OFAM's flagship event is the Orange 4x4 Fury, an adrenaline-driven off-roading event that has been drawing some of the most adventurous drivers from across the country every year for a ride to cherish for life.
The recently-concluded eighth edition of the Orange 4x4 Fury saw renewed zeal and enthusiasm from more than 20 off-roaders from across India putting their skills and machines to the ultimate test. Stunning everyone, it was the pair of Marnya Chiram and Mari Basar from Arunachal Pradesh which lifted the coveted champion's trophy with their stellar performance in their Maruti Gypsy. The 53-year-old Marnya, who works as a superintendent engineer in the Public Health Engineering Department, Arunachal Pradesh, was the eldest participant in this year's edition. Hailing from the Lepa Rada district, Marnya proved to the world that age is just a number and echoed JK Tyre's vision of promoting motorsports across age groups.
Held across three stages, the first on December 16 morning involved a five-kilometre run through the dry bed of the eastern bank of the mighty Dibang river. The rocks, boulders, loose sand and tall elephant grass covering the river bed posed a tough challenge to the drivers. A couple of drivers also lost their way and had to be rescued. Three vehicles that had got stuck in the river and on the sand had to be pulled out by a heavy excavator that had been kept on standby.
The second stage the same afternoon was on the western bank of the Dibang. Competitors had to once again negotiate the river bed, cross a shallow stream of the river and then take the dirt tracks through dense forests.
The third stage on the bed of the Sisseri river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, was the highlight of the event. The 22-kilometre drive on the dry riverbed strewn with huge boulders the size of SUVs, rocks and sand, was the ultimate test of the competitor's skills and endurance.
The champions Marnya Chiram and Mari Basar accumulated only 136 penalty points at the end of the three stages. Following them closely in another Maruti Gypsy was yet another Arunachali team of Nabam Katung and Rubu Tanjang with 141 penalty points. The third overall position was grabbed by Jaong Singpho and Mili Sanjay who notched up 147 penalty points.
In the above 2000 cc category, the pair of Devjyoti Borah and Sandeep Gogoi took the win in their Gurkha, while Pankaj Kar and Suranj Saha followed in the second spot in another Gurkha. Jaong Singpho and Mili Sanjay came third in this category. In the below 2000 cc category, Marnya Chiram and Mari Basar emerged as winners while the team of Nabam Katung and Rubu Tanjang were the first runners-up. The third position was held by Jaong Singpho and Mili Sanjay.
On another successful edition of the Orange 4x4 Fury, Sanjay Sharma, Head- Motorsports, JK Tyre said, "The Orange 4x4 Fury has been an event that has helped us realise the vision of reaching every nook and cranny of the country in our endeavour to promote motorsports across levels. When we started out, motorsport in Northeast India was at a nascent stage. We are grateful to the government for their continuous support in establishing a robust motorsport ecosystem in this part of the world while also ensuring a significant boom in local tourism and economy."
"We're grateful to all the stakeholders in successfully conducting another edition of this adrenaline-driven rally across the beautiful Dibang valley. The rally truly seeks the best of efforts from the participants in navigating and enduring a rough track. On behalf of JK Tyre, I
congratulate the winners this season," he added.
Lhakpa Tsering, president of the Motorsports Club of Arunachal, and one of the directors of OFAM, said, "Starting a festival like OFAM in such a remote village is nothing sort of a daring dream. JK Tyre has been with us from the very beginning in making that dream a reality and also ensuring in making it big. From only one government bungalow to an overflow of accommodation, the festival has come a full circle. We're grateful to the entire team for believing in us. With this event, locals from not only Arunachal Pradesh, but from the entire Northeast are now taking up the sport professionally. People from all over the world now recognise the motorsport potential of the Northeast because of the Orange 4x4 Fury."
The trophies were handed over by the chief guests, Yishay Yongda, the district magistrate of Gyalshing district in Sikkim and Feroz Khan, regional head (North East).