Scuba diving lessons taught for youngsters

Hubballi: The Hubballi-Dharwad municipal corporation’s swimming pool has been turned into a scuba diving training space for youngsters who are participating in the National Youth Festival (NYF).
For the first time, scuba diving training and the opportunity to experiment with diving have been provided by the government in Hubbali city. Sports and adventure enthusiasts from the North Karnataka region would visit Goa, Karwar and other coastal places for scuba diving since it is not available in the region. General Thimayya National Academy of Adventure, Bengaluru is now conducting scuba diving training as part of ongoing NYF, attracting youths.
Dinesh Suvarna, chief instructor, Scuba diving, GETHNAA told TOI that the adventure water sport requires courage and confidence. “We train 20-25 candidates daily. We will give them tips and theoretical knowledge to boost their confidence. "We take the candidates into the water after the workshop," he said.
“Each candidate is fitted with all the required equipment before scuba diving. We first take the candidates into 5-feet-deep water. If they show courage, we will take them deeper. We never force them to go deeper,” he explained.
We are offering it free of cost. Authorities may extend the training if there is a large response, he said.