No hurdle too big for CoEP students

Pune: Nothing can deter the enthusiasm of students of College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) from practising for their annual Regatta event despite obstacles like water hyacinth or the foul smell of the river. 

It is ironic that this year, the theme of the Regatta is environmental sustainability. The Mula river that flows next to the CoEP is a flowing mass of muck and polluted water. The water smells, is almost black in colour and the flies and mosquitoes make it impossible to stand at the banks. 

Though putting their health at risk, participating rowers are excited to be a part of this event. 

Bhushan Shiwankar, secretary of Regatta, said the CoEP is amongst the few colleges of the country blessed with a river bank. “We ignore the hyacinth. Every year, the number of participants ranges from 300 to 350 and the event or students’ participation is never hampered because of the hyacinth issue.”
 
“Since all participating students are avid swimmers, their strong immunity helps them stay away from possible diseases that can be caused due to their proximity to such polluted water,” said Namrata Kala, who has been a participant from last three years and a media representative.

“We start practising for the event two months prior. Until now, no student has fallen sick due to the water or hyacinth,” she said.

Another participant Shandilya Bharadwaj said that the hyacinth in the river has reduced since last four years. “The hyacinth, mosquitoes or the foul smell does not affect our health because we are immune to it. The hyacinth of course affects the rowing speed and we have to slow down our boat when we hit the hyacinth.”

“When a boat does hit a hyacinth patch, it sometimes gets stuck into the motor of the boat. “This affects the speed. At that time, we have use our power to take the boat forward,” said Sumit Bhamre, who will participate in the Regatta for the fourth time this year. 

CoEP Regatta
The Boat Club of CoEP annually hosts its traditional and invigorating festival wherein enthusiastic students of the college display their talents in water sports. The festival came into existence on its year of foundation, 1928. The Boat Club has been providing facilities including training in kayaking, rowing, canoeing and punting.