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Instructor Mazharul Bari briefs a particiapnt during a diving trial at Dimna Lake last week. Telegraph picture
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A plunge into inviting depths will be dream-turned-reality at Dimna Lake from Friday.
The Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) is ready to formally launch its underwater diving programme, 10km from Jamshedpur, offering adventure junkies from the city and elsewhere an experience of a lifetime.
The area under the jetty has been earmarked for diving. The depth there is some 50ft. To ensure safety of thrill-seekers, TSAF chief Bachendri Pal, along with mountaineer Premlata Agarwal, began supervision of trial runs from February 23.
“Village youths and a fair number of employees from Tata Steel’s security department were part of that exercise. We are launching the programme only after getting positive feedback during the trial run. The programme will be an exciting add-on to our other adrenaline surging activities like rock climbing, caving, abseiling, tarzan swinging and rafting,” said adventure foundation secretary P.P. Kapadia.
The charges have been worked out.
“Participants can book a half-hour dive for Rs 200. For starters, employees of Tata Steel and its sister concerns as well as institutions like XLRI can enjoy the experience. Our instructor Mazharul Bari will brief participants on techniques before they take the plunge,” Kapadia said.
He added that they would first study the response and then decide whether to extend the programme to non-Tata Steel enthusiasts. “We are aware that many in the city have a knack for adventures. But, they will have to wait for some time.”
Bari, who took advanced underwater diving lessons from Calcutta’s Sea Explorer Institute and is an asset for Tata Steel’s security department, has been involved in several river search and rescue operations in the city and its suburbs, where drowning incidents are frequent.
The veteran swimmer explained that underwater diving was of three basic types — scuba (oxygen cylinder is carried on person), surface supplied (the source of oxygen remains on the ground) and free plunge (breath-holding dive).
“Here at Dimna, we have planned the second. The oxygen cylinder will be kept on the surface, while the diver goes inside with a mask and a 100m-long pipe. Air pressure will be regulated from above,” he explained.
Besides masks, other diving gear will include finned shoes, gloves and wetsuits. The last is mostly made of neoprene, a type of synthetic rubber typically used in waters where the temperature is between 10°C and 25°C. The foamed neoprene thermally insulates the wearer.
The TSAF has already purchased oxygen cylinders, masks, regulators and ropes. More equipment will be procured shortly. Interested persons can contact the TSAF office at JRD Tata Sports Complex for registering their names.
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