Ever wondered what the insides of Dimna Lake look like? Ask the adventure junkies of Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) and they will probably tell you to put your wet suit on and jump in to find out.
TSAF, the adventure wing of steel major Tata Steel, is all set to switch gears to include underwater diving as part of its local outdoor leadership course, a move sources said was aimed at adding a zing to the adventure sports offered by the foundation.
Speaking to The Telegraph here on Monday, chief of Tata Steel's adventure programmes Bachendri Pal confirmed the foundation's move and said that they were excited about adding scuba diving as part of their local programme.
"Apart from rafting and raft-making, underwater diving too will soon be an integral part of the adventure sports conducted by us in Dimna Lake," pal said adding that they had already sought a list of necessary diving equipment from Calcutta.
To test the depth of waters, TSAF also conducted a dummy run in Dimna on Saturday under the guidance of Mazhar-ul-Bari, the security instructor of Tata Steel.
Bari, who has been part of several rescue operations in the city was joined by TSAF instructor R.S. Pal, Nirmal Pandey and Dinesh Upadhyay of Tata Growth Shop who went as deep as 20 feet in the water. Bachendri, who was present at the spot, chose not to get her feet wet but nonetheless looked extremely thrilled at the whole experience.
"I am very excited that underwater diving will soon become a reality in Jamshedpur," she said.
The team first rafted to an island in the lake from where they took the plunge in the water. Though there was an oxygen cylinder ready on the island, Bari, Pal, Pandey and Upadhyay went underwater sans any gear.
"We went up to an estimated depth of 12-20ft. It was just an experiment minus any particular equipment like wet suit, masks, gloves, wet belts, torches, boots, oxygen regulators and hoods. We just carried 100mt long breathing pipes ," recalled Bari .
Prodded about the time when the diving course might become a reality, Bachendri added that they were waiting for equipment from Calcutta. "We will start as soon as the gear reaches us," the legendary climber said.
Notably, TSAF concentrates on Tumung, Dimna Lake and Dalma hills for all its local outdoor leadership programmes.
While rock climbing, caving, Abseiling and Tarzan swing is held at Tumung, about 25 km from Jamshedpur, Dimna is the chosen destination for water sports. The scenic Dalma hills are reserved exclusively for trekking.
The outdoor leadership course of TSAf is run from December to February every year.
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