Udupi: Gopal Kharvi Swims to Malpe with Hands and Legs Chained
Udupi, Dec 21 (The Hindu): Gopal Kharvi, swimmer and fisherman, swam from St. Mary’s Island here to Malpe beach with his hands tied behind his back and legs chained, on Sunday.
Kharvi started from the St. Mary’s Island at 7.47 a.m. He took three hours and 26 minutes to complete the 15-km distance. Kharvi was expected to reach Malpe beach in about one hour and 45 minutes or two hours, but could not do so because of the breeze.
Police officer Mahesh Prasad had chained Mr. Kharvi’s hands behind his back and also the legs. Guinness record-holder for peeling coconuts with his teeth, S. Siddaraju, who is an employee of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) in Bangalore, and Prasad followed Kharvi by boats.
A large number of people had gathered at the Malpe beach to watch the event. Kharvi told presspersons that his swimming speed was checked by the breeze. “I had to swim in a zig-zag manner. I hope this swim, with my hands and legs tied, will gain entry in the Limca Book of Records. I have an ambition to create a Guinness record,” he said.
Siddaraju said that Kharvi had the potential to create a Guinness record. The people from Limca Book of Records had asked him (Siddaraju) to submit the recordings of Kharvi’s swim. The actual distance between St. Mary’s Island to Maple was 12 km, but due to the wind, Kharvi had to cover three extra km, he said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner T.M. Prabhakar, Chief Planning Officer of Zilla Panchayat Vijaykumar Shetty, Chairman of State Konkani Sahitya Academy Narayan Kharvi, Deputy Superintendent of Police Vishwanath Pandit felicitated Kharvi at the beach.
Life member of Karnataka Swimming Association S.R. Sindia said that the association was thinking of encouraging Kharvi to swim across the English Channel in 2012.
The conditions at the English Channel were different and Kharvi had to be trained for it, he said.
Earlier, Kharvi had swum from St. Mary’s Island to Malpe beach with hands and legs chained on December 17, 2006.
He had then covered about 10 km in two hours and 20 minutes.