BENGALURU: Indian Navy’s Lt Cdr Aishwarya Boddapati and Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi (skipper), who were a part of the six-member team of INSV Tarini that circumnavigated the globe, found Indian territorial waters the most polluted during their sailing expedition. The delicate marine life has been put to risk by plastic pollution, the women said at an event called ‘We The Women’ held in Bengaluru on Sunday.
On being asked about the level of pollution in the sea, Vartika said the team witnessed oil spills and plastic pollution — most of it in the Indian waters. Aishwarya remarked, “Fishermen deploy their buoys with plastic. An example of damaged marine life is damaged tortoise eggs.”
Vartika said that barring organic waste, team INSV Tarini has made sure no plastic was dumped by them into the sea. Explaining the difference between the purity of air on the ocean and land, Aishwarya said, “We are taking time to adjust to land. The oceanic air is so pure and devoid of pollution that the team was falling sick every other day after we came back. We are still getting used to the city’s air.”
“We witnessed some of the most beautiful sights. There is nothing more beautiful than witnessing the sunrise and sunset on the horizon lying under the sky. Sperm whales used to circle our boat thinking that it is another fish. Before coming to Goa, we saw whale sharks and two Remora fishes,” Lt Cdr Aishwarya said.
When a member of the audience asked if they missed social media, Vartika explained that the team had a blog that was updated as the voyage progressed. “We did have limited social media access though the Naval headquarters was constantly updated and the de-addiction was good when you have so many beautiful sights to behold,” Aishwarya said.
ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Despite the successful voyage around the globe, Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi said, “I will feel empowered when I do not have to discuss my gender every time.” With the expedition, it has been established that women can go out into the seas all by themselves and this hopefully will open avenues for women in combat, she added. “Hopefully, the Navy will consider positions for female Naval officers in combat,” she said.
Recalling 16-year-old Laura Dekker’s successful solo sailing expedition around the world in 2009, Aishwarya said she hopes, one day solo sailing around the world will be child’s play. “The youngest sailor to sail solo around the world is 16. We hope someday kids would come back from school and tell folks at home they are going sailing,” she quipped.