Udupi's water sports training centre to be functional in April

UDUPI: This coastal district to take a quantum leap in promoting water sports as an adventure activity when Karnataka’s first water sports training centre becomes functional at Padukere here by April.
Announced in the 2016-17 budget, the centre here is being set up at a cost of Rs 2 crore. The budget also mooted another such centre at Murudeshwar in Uttara Kannada district under the aegis of General Thimayya National Academy of Adventure.
Udupi Nirmithi Kendra has started the work of laying the foundation for the containers which will double up as the temporary dormitories cum offices and VVIP rooms of the centre, says Roshan Shetty, in-charge district youth empowerment and sports officer.The academy is part of the department of youth empowerment and sports and specialises in imparting basic and advanced training in various adventure sports across the state, he said.
Land for the centre was identified under then minister for youth empowerment and sports Pramod Madhwaraj. Work on the centre has started now, Roshan Shetty told TOI. “We are hopeful of starting the maiden basic water sports training camp in April,” he said. Retrofitting of containers is on at Kolar and these will be transported to Padukere and installed, he said. This is a must since no permanent structure is allowed in CRZ areas.
The centre will impart training in search and rescue of people in water. This training will be useful to youths looking to take up careers as lifeguards and the certificate that the academy issues to trainees will stand them in good stead. The training will also be useful to save lives of people in the district that is prone to flooding, Roshan averred or when they seek employment in beaches where trained lifeguards are a must for tourist security.
Work on the foundation for the containers at a cost of Rs 5 lakh is on. The project includes a compound wall which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. These works will be completed in the next 30-45 days. The centre will commence its activities once the tailor made containers are received and installed, shortly thereafter. Arun Kumar, project director, Nirmithi Kendra, Udupi, said.