CHENNAI: Raising awareness on the threats of plastic pollution on marine life and the importance of ‘saving oceans’, three children of the same family on Wednesday carried out a swimming expedition of 21 km, from Neelankarai to Marina.
With this feat on National Girl Child Day, the cousins --AV Kavi Ashvathan (14), TA Thaaragai Aarathana (9) and DH Nishvik (7)--have entered Assist World Records to become the first children in the age group to make such an attempt in Bay of Bengal. The children began their breaststroke swimming at 7.35 am from Neelankarai and reached the finish point at Marina at 12.55 pm, thereby completing 21 km distance in 5.25 hours.
However, for Thaarangai, this is just another feather to her cap. Back in 2022, she swam for 18 km from Kovalam to Neelankarai for the same cause. Thaarangai’s father Aravind Tharunsri, an expert scuba diver, told TNIE, “Our aim was not to enter into some record books. It was for creating awareness on marine plastic pollution, which as on date is a serious problem. We also plan to do it every year.”
Arvind, along with his daughters, also undertakes regular reef clean-up dives. Even a fortnight back, they removed kilos of plastic from Neelankarai sea bed. R Rajendran, founder and president of Assist World Records, distributed a certificate in appreciation.