Thirty-five swimmers have successfully swum across the “Bangla Channel” from Cox’s Bazar.
Bangla Channel refers to a 16.1-kilometre sea route from Shahporir Island in Teknaf to St Martin. Initially, 37 swimmers had registered to attempt to cross the stretch of water, but among them, 35 swimmers ended up participating in the final competition.
Cox’s Bazar District Sports Officer Alauddin was present to inaugurate the swim, as swimmers began their journey from the western beach of Shahporir Island at 9:35am on Saturday. The competitors finished their swim upon reaching the north beach of Saint Martin, according to a press release.
The competition was organised by Shoŗoj Adventure as part of the Youth Festival under the Ministry of Youth and Sports and sponsored by the Department of Sports.
Former Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) member Saiful Islam Rasel participated in this year’s Bangla Channel swim. Previously, he has crossed channel six times. Most recently, in 2023’s competition, he was the fastest one to cross the channel, completing the journey in 3 hours and 50 minutes.
Additionally, MST Shohagi Akter, the first woman to successfully cross the channel, also participated in this year’s competition.
CEO of Shoroj Adventure, swimmer Lipton Sarkar, also known as the “King of the Bangla Channel” for having crossed it 20 times, informed that, among the 35 swimmers this year, two were women and was conducted following international standards. Adequate arrangements had also been made for safety. There was a boat and rescue personnel ready for each swimmer.
The event was sponsored by Dhaka Bank PLC, powered by Dynamic Dentistry, with VISAThing!, Studio Dhaka, and Sarkar Agro as event partners.
