Rabbi Rahman of Bogura wins 13.5km Subalong Channel swim in Kaptai Lake, 32 swimmers take part in Rangamati

Swimmers from across the country have crossed a 13.5-kilometre stretch of Kaptai Lake in Rangamati’s Subalong Channel. A total of 32 swimmers, including two women, took part in the Subalong Channel swimming competition organised by the district administration on Saturday morning (31 October). Md Rabbi Rahman of Bogura finished first, taking 3 hours 28 minutes 40 seconds.

Before dawn had fully broken, the swimmers were taken by motorboat from Shahid Minar Ghat in Rangamati town to Subalong Bazar. After light exercises there, they entered the waters of Kaptai Lake one by one, with high hills on both sides and a vast expanse of water between them. Their goal was to swim the 13.5 kilometres back to Shahid Minar Ghat.

Covering the 13.5-kilometre course was no easy task; it demanded physical ability as well as mental firmness and self-confidence. The competitors swam on, sometimes in groups and sometimes keeping some distance. The event was not only a contest of distance, but also a rare experience of courage, fitness, confidence and closeness to nature.

Although 40 swimmers had registered, 32 took part, and all but two of them completed the full course. Md Rabbi Rahman of Bogura finished first in 3 hours 28 minutes 40 seconds. Md Mehedi Hasan, also of Bogura, was second in 3 hours 49 minutes 15 seconds, and Md Nayan Islam was third in 3 hours 55 minutes.

Winner Md Rabbi Rahman said: “It felt very good to take part. Hills on both sides, and we swam on through the middle. It is enjoyable to swim in this kind of environment. Let this event continue in the future. It may also create interest among foreign athletes, alongside our own, to take part.”

Another participant, Nayan Islam, said: “In other places there is a current, but here we found no such current. Swimming was a bit harder because of that, but it still felt good. Everyone likes adventure. It felt wonderful to swim in the midst of nature.”

Kaptai Lake is an inseparable part of the life, livelihood, transport and culture of the people of Rangamati; countless motorboats and vessels ply the lake every day. Yet the thought of swimming a long distance across its vast waters frightens many, and the risk and unfamiliarity of swimming in deep, hill-ringed water have created a fear of water among many local people. According to the organisers, the Subalong Channel competition carried the message of conquering that fear.

After the competition, prizes were distributed at noon at the central Shahid Minar premises in Rangamati. Deputy Commissioner Nazma Ashrafi said at the ceremony: “Swimming is not actually a competition or just a sport; it is a life skill. The main purpose of today’s event is that everyone should learn swimming as a life skill for survival. And may everyone’s fear of swimming, or of water, go away — that is today’s theme.”

The organisers hope such events will encourage young people to learn swimming and practise it regularly, and that swimmers capable of competing at the national level will also emerge in the future.