kolkata: Officials of the three rowing clubs around the Rabindra Sarobar in south Kolkata will hold a meeting in presence of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goel on Thursday so that a standard operating procedure (SOP) can be prepared for holding rowing events in the lake in the days to come.
The school regatta that was scheduled to take place this week was postponed following the unfortunate and unprecedented incident in which two rowers drowned to death last Saturday at Rabindra Sarobar after their rowing boat capsised during a squall.
Senior officials from Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the custodian of Rabindra Sarobar will also be present at the meeting.
"There may be one diesel-run motorised speedboat during rowing events. The club authorities have informed us that the tragedy could have been averted if there was such a boat. It may take a lot of time for battery driven rescue boats to rush to a spot in case of emergency. We may move the court with the plea of motorised speed boat for the sake of safety of the rowers. The rowing clubs should also take the legal path," Firhad Hakim, the Chairman of KMDA said.
The West Bengal Rowing Association on Tuesday held a meeting with all rowing clubs where it was unanimously decided that collective decisions will be taken soon after meeting with police authorities and other experts.
The meeting will deliberate in details what additional safety measures can be taken apart from all the existing arrangements already there in the clubs.
The meeting had started with a minute's silence in memory of the two deceased rowers, Souradeep Chatterjee and Pushan Sadhukhan, both students of South Point High School..
"The priority would be to find out a better mechanism for rowers' safety in the water," a senior official of a rowing club said.The clubs have been using diesel-run motorised speed boats for prompt rescue operation but it had to be stopped following an order from the National Green Tribunal and a notice from the KMDA.
Three days after two teenage rowers drowned to death at Rabindra Sarobar during a storm that struck the city, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the custodian of the lake, said it would conduct an inquiry to find out if existing protocols were being adhered to by the rowing clubs.