Rowing boat overturns at Lake, none injured

Kolkata: A minor accident occurred at Rabindra Sarobar on Saturday morning when a rowing boat suddenly overturned in the waterbody on early Saturday morning.

A veteran rower who was on the boat held to it for a few minutes and was immediately pulled out of the water by a rescue boat.

"The basic rule in rowing is to hold on to the boat if it capsizes which ensure one does not drown. So I did the same and the rescue boat which was nearby immediately came and rescued me. I am completely fine," Sunil Sethia, the senior rower involved in the mishap said. The KMDA, custodian of the Lake has sought for a detailed report in this regard. "We have asked the rowing association to ensure that proper maintenance, health check-up of the rowing boats are done before any activity. We are hopeful to get the official permission to use petrol driven boat for rescue operation by Monday-Tuesday next week," Nandini Ghosh, Special Commissioner of Urban Development & Municipal Affairs department and acting secretary of KMDA said.

"It is nothing uncommon for boats to capsize during rowing as these are very light. We check all boats thoroughly before they sail. We follow all safety measures too," Raja Dasgupta of West Bengal Rowing Association said.

Environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh demanded complete enquiry from KMDA's side to ascertain the cause of the accident.