A group of swimming enthusiasts on Puthuvype beach of Kochi in Kerala have turned pandemic curbs into an opportunity to clean up the beach and promote outdoor leisure activities in keeping with the COVID-19 protocol.
Vypeen Beach Club was formed over three years ago to help promote outdoor activities among those interested in them. The aim is to help people overcome the fear of the sea, which faces a variety of threats due to human intervention, said Shammy Chakravarthy, an early member of the club.
“From training people to swim to cleaning up the beach, one gets to understand the sea better,” said Mr. Chakravarthy, who works with a software company at InfoPark. “Those who get to know the sea become more environment-friendly, besides realising the need to protect our surroundings,” he added.
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Akhil S. Pai, an engineer who was involved in building a bricklaying robot, said he was interested in outdoor activities and thus associated himself with the Beach Club. However, pandemic restrictions kept him away from them. Also, swimming is curtailed when the sea turns rough following rain.
Though the COVID-19 protocol had resulted in beach activities coming to a near standstill, Beach Club members had got together on Independence Day to hoist the National Flag and clean up the Puthuvype beach, which is located close to the LNG terminal.
Mr. Chakravarthy said one of the activities of the club was to retrieve driftwood and use them to put up decorations on the beach. For instance, a big swing was put up on the beach using driftwood.
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Dominic Simenti, a swimming enthusiast, said he associated himself with the club as he liked to train people to swim. He added that he used to offer instructions to people on the essentials of swimming.
Mr. Chakravarthy said staying afloat amid the waves took some skill and provided a means of great relaxation to those who took to the sport and stressed the importance of outdoor activities.