BY Calcutta Telegraph

The East Singhbhum district administration’s worry over finding trained divers may have ended with Mazharul Bari, an employee in Tata Steel’s security wing.

Bari is the first person to complete a course on underwater diving sponsored by the steel major. He underwent a one-and-a-half months training at Calcutta-based Sea Explorer’s Institute.

“It was a unique experience. Going 8km into the sea from Shankarpur beach and diving to a depth of 80m was very thrilling. A pipe from the yacht supplied compressed air when we went underwater. It was a superb learning experience,” Bari, who has also taken part in several rescue operations as part of the Tata Relief Committee, told The Telegraph.

Back home, Bari said he would be needing underwater diving equipment (scuba set), including compressed air supply cylinder, pipe and mask for rescue missions in the steel city.
“At present, we don’t have the equipment but I would be requesting the company for it,” he said.

The administration has always been at its wits end when it comes to rescuing drowned victims. In the absence of trained divers, seven youths had drowned in Subernarekha during Chhath a few years ago. A student drowned in the Kharkai during Durga Puja a year ago.

After Bari’s training, dependence on outstation divers (who are not always available) or village youths, can well be a thing of the past.

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