Swimming pools were closed to save water. The BMC now says they won’t be opened soon as repairs worth Rs50 crore are being undertaken.
The wait for reopening of the civic-run swimming pools does not seem to end. The pools which were shut by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to save water the previous season, have not been opened for the citizens even after the city received enough rains to sustain till the next monsoon.
However, civic officials claim that the pools will not be reopened soon as repair works worth Rs50 crore are being undertaken.
The seven BMC pools are the Mahatma Gandhi pool at Shivaji Park, General AK Vaidya pool at Chembur, Lions Club pool at Ghatkopar, Nirlon pool at Goregaon, Shahajiraje pool at Andheri, Priyadarshini pool at Mulund and the one at Kandivli.
The pool in Mulund is said to be open but it lies defunct. “The pool at Mulund, which is said to be in operation, is not really in use,” said a senior official.
“We want the repair work to be completed at the earliest. Tenders will be floated in the next 15 days and the task would be completed fast. The repair work for each pool would cost nearly Rs10 crore,” said deputy municipal commissioner Chandrashekhar Rokade.
“We have dug bore well pumps nearby and have installed recycling plants to conserve water. We intend to install showers that will use less water.”
The Chembur and Kandivli swimming pools have been shut for three years for want of repairs and the one at Shivaji park is shut for over two years.
The Andheri pool was shut right after mayor Shraddha Jadhav inaugurated it in March this year, following the death of a 10-year-old in it. The pool has been handed over to a private trust for maintenance.
“A meeting with additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta was convened and the decision to reopen the pools where the repair task is completed was taken. The pool at Ghatkopar will be opened in a month’s time. The repair work at the Shivaji Park pool will be completed by March next year,” said Jadhav.
However, citizens complain that the civic body has been delaying the opening of the swimming pools without a concrete reason. Members of the Andheri swimming pool had submitted a memorandum to open the pool for citizens.
The membership in these pools cost citizens Rs3,000 to Rs5,000.
“We plan to return the money to those who had taken membership in the Dadar and Kandivli swimming pools. For the other swimming pools, we are planning to extend the membership term,” said an official.
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