HYDERABAD: Each year around the first week of July, sailors from all over the country descend at Hussain Sagar lake in the city to compete at the Multiclass National Level Sailing Championships. The event, popularly known as Hyderabad Sailing Week, is all set to be held from July 2 to 7. Many sailors had already arrived by Sunday to take part in the championships that will witness competitions across eight different Olympic classes, from Laser Class to Finn.
Even though there is excitement, something is missing: no foreign participation. The reason is the polluted waters of the lake. “This time quite a few international experts came visiting before the start of the event. They were very impressed with the facilities and the wind conditions. They were eager to send sailors from their countries, but as soon as they saw the pollution in the waters, they got discouraged,” Lt Col Alok Kumar Yadav, secretary of EME Sailing Association (EMESA), and Laser Class Association of India (LCAI) told this newspaper on Sunday. EMESA and LCAI jointly organise the tournament.
This daily also learned that Yachting Association of India’s joint secretary general Captain Jitendra Dixit will examine the water when he visits the venue during the tournament. It has been widely reported that the lake contains heavy metals and other toxic materials. The stench emanating from the water body sometimes makes it very uncomfortable for the people who walk the perimeter in the mornings and evenings. The condition of the lake can be gauged from the statement made by one of the senior coaches — Subedar R Saravanan — at Army Yachting Node (AYN), which is based in Mumbai.
“The lake is so polluted that participants complain of irritable skin soon after getting into it. Sometimes a dark layer settles on their skin, and it does not come off even after weeks. How will international sailors take interest when the conditions are like that?”
Yadav says steps have been taken in the recent past by the state government to mitigate the damage done to the lake. “A few sewage treatment plants in the city have become operational. That has helped. The water also needs to get proper amount of oxygen. That is also being done to some extent. Still, we want more help from the government to deal with this problem. This event has the potential to become one of the really important tournaments,” Yadav said.