Kamalkrishna Dey, East Burdwan: Sayani Das aims to win the seventh Sindhu. President’s award winning open water swimmer Sayani Das of Kalna in East Burdwan district is moving towards the goal of swimming across the seven seas of the world. He has already successfully crossed six seas. This time the target is Japan’s Sugaru channel. And the financial aspect stood in the way of fulfilling that dream. This seventh and final challenge required around 14 lakh rupees to cross the Sugaru Strait of Japan. Out of that, I was able to arrange 9 lakh rupees, but due to the lack of the remaining 5 lakh rupees, the long-term dream of Sadhana was stopped. In this situation, Saini approached East Burdwan District Magistrate Shweta Aggarwal for help. And then Burdwan District Rice Mill Association extended its help. Burdwan District Rice Mill Association handed over a financial check of five lakh rupees to Saini in the presence of other officials in the District Magistrate’s office on Friday.

Note that it separates the Japanese islands of Honshu (south) and Hokkaido (north). Swimmer Sayani Das said, ‘I am an open water swimmer. Aim to swim across the seven seas of the world. I have already passed six of them. The last sea is Sugaru in Japan. These sports are very expensive. Due to financial problems there were problems in preparation. The district administration and the Rice Mill Association have extended their helping hand. Now the responsibility has increased. I want to fly the national flag of the country, not Bengali, on foreign soil. I will leave from India next June. Between 3rd and 7th July, if the weather is favourable, permission to cross the Channel will be granted.’

He also said, ‘It is a big responsibility to make the country proud. Flying the national flag on foreign soil is a very emotional moment. Preparations are going on with that aim.’ President of Burdwan District Ricemill Association Abdul Malek said, ‘Saini has already crossed six channels. Now going to Japan for Channel Seven. We have only given a little financial help. Today, Saini is the pride of the entire country. At the request of the District Magistrate, we have given little assistance. Ricemill Association regularly lends a helping hand to various sectors of the society and the organization will continue to support such initiatives in the future. Everyone is hoping that Saini will make history and brighten the face of Bengal and the country.