Kaithal ADC among eight to relay-swim across Palk Strait

A team of eight Indian swimmers, including Kaithal Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), successfully completed a 28-km relay swim across the Palk Strait connecting Sri Lanka and India on April 18. They started from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka and reached Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu.

The eight-member relay team, led by Arjuna Awardee Prasanta Karmakar, completed the swim in eight hours and 30 minutes.

The team included athletes and professionals from diverse backgrounds -- Prasanta Karmakar, Arjuna Awardee and team leader from Haryana; Deepak Babulal Karwa, ADC Kaithal; Abhinav Gopal, Chief Development Officer, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh; Murigeppa Channannavar, police inspector in Karnataka; Rabin Boldey, head TT Railways, Sealdah, West Bengal; Aman Shanbag, third-year medical student from Karnataka; Rajbir, para swimmer from Haryana; and Ishant Singh, national athlete from Haryana.

The swim was officially observed by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) through Vijayakumar Mayandi, ensuring adherence to open water swimming standards.

The swimmers said that swimming alongside the legendary Ram Setu, this endeavour carried powerful messages -- supporting the FIT India movement, promoting adventure tourism, honouring religious and cultural faith in Lord Ram, encouraging open sea swimming and celebrating India’s unity in diversity.

ADC Kaithal Karwa said that the Palk Strait swim is a challenging event and this relay swim involved eight swimmers who took turns covering the distance. “It not only tested the physical limits of the swimmers but also showcased the strength of collaboration and shared national spirit,” ADC added.

Building on this success, the same team is now preparing to cross the English Channel in a relay format in June.