Over 250 teenage rowers, gearing up for a tournament in the Rabindra Sarobar slated next month, will have to learn how to cling to a boat in the event of a capsize, remain calm, not panic and wait for the rescue boat to reach from the nearest location.
All these are part of a mandatory drill ahead of the 50th edition of the All India Invitation Inter-School Regatta to be held at Lake Club between May 11 and 17.
The boat capsize drill is part of Kolkata Police’s standard operating procedure, which the rowing clubs in the Rabindra Sarobar complex have been asked to comply with.
The SoP was formulated in the wake of the tragic death of two teenage rowers on May 21, 2022, during a ferocious squall that capsized several boats in Rabindra Sarobar. Pushan Sadhukhan and Souradeep Chatterjee, both students of South Point High School, drowned in the Sarobar when a Nor’wester struck Calcutta at a top speed of 90kmph.
“A significant part of the capsize drill involves how one releases the foot from the boat when it overturns, remains afloat, stays calm and waits for the speedboat to reach with rescuers from the nearest location. This simple exercise needs practice, and that’s what we are telling the participants,” Sudip Naha, captain of boats of Lake Club, told Metro.
The deaths of the two rowers had triggered allegations of negligence. The rescue boat was allegedly deployed late and the boats were allowed on the waters despite a storm alert.
Rowing was suspended in the 193-acre water body — the only venue for the sport in Bengal — after the accident.
The sport resumed after five months with a detailed list of safety protocols. The list of standard operating procedures was prepared following several meetings attended by police and representatives of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (the custodian of the Sarobar), West Bengal Rowing Association and the rowing clubs — Lake Club, Calcutta Rowing Club and Bengal Rowing Club.
It said the trainees/rowers must undergo a periodic capsize drill, a capsize drill participation certificate must be issued, and the names of trainees/rowers who have participated in the drill must be maintained in a register, along with the date and time of the event. The register should note the name of the person under whose supervision the drill was conducted, it added.
“In keeping with the guidelines, we have ensured that high-speed rescue boats armed with a throwable rescue device such as a life buoy, rescue tube, rescue can, rope lifeline and shepherds hook, are placed at strategic locations during the regatta,” said Somnath Dey, former captain of boats of Lake Club. Safety officers and lifesavers would be posted to attend to emergencies.
“There is a separate weather monitor. Participants and those undergoing training are not allowed to venture into the waters in inclement weather,” Naha said.
“There is a particular wind speed that is considered safe. If the wind speed is higher, the boats are withdrawn immediately,” he said.
The inter-school regatta will comprise three events — indoor rowing, double scull and coxed fours. Students up to Class X will feature in the junior events, while those from Classes XI and XII will be in the senior category.
The inter-school regatta hosted by Lake Club started in 1973.
“It was the first championship beyond the inter-club championship in the history of Indian rowing. The tournament precedes the formation of the Rowing Federation of India and the West Bengal Rowing Association,” said Naha.
Covid had stalled it for a couple of years. It happened last year as well, with due safety protocols in place.
Pushan and Souradeep drowned while practising for a school regatta hosted by the Bengal Rowing Club.
Organisers at Lake Club said this year’s inter-school regatta will include students from over 30 schools across the city, including La Martiniere for Boys, La Martiniere for Girls, Modern High School, St James’, South Point, Calcutta Boys, St Xavier’s Collegiate School, Patha Bhavan, Nava Nalanda, and South City International.
Students from schools in Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand are expected to join.