3 yrs on, Chembur swimming pool revamp plan stuck

Civic standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale, who is also the corporator from Chembur, had allocated the massive sum to turn the facility into an Olympic size swimming pool with additional space for sports activities, a gymnasium and parking. It was also proposed to install a water filtration plant in the swimming pool to ensure better quality of water.

Joint Municipal Commissioner (in-charge of gardens and swimming pools) S S Shinde, said, “The swimming pool is in poor condition and has leakages. The proposal to repair the pool has been stuck for a year due to bureaucratic hurdles.”

“I wanted to send my son for swimming classes during summer vacations. But the only swimming pool in the locality that is  affordable has been shut for many years,” said Vishala Jaydev, a resident of Green Acres society in Chembur. Mahalaxmi Govind, a resident of Runwal Centre in Chembur said, “Chembur is the second largest suburb in Mumbai after Andheri. It deserves an Olympic size swimming pool that is affordable to the general public.”

While there are two swimming pools in the central suburbs of Mulund and Ghatkopar, the Chembur swimming pool is the only one that caters to a large population in the eastern suburbs. The pool has over 7,000 members and is meant to cater to people from Mankhurd, Govandi, Trombay, Mahul and Chembur. The Mulund and Ghatkopar swimming pools are often shut down often due to erratic maintenance, said a senior civic official from the civic
gardens department.

Of the seven public swimming pools in the city, four have been handed over to private trusts that charge exorbitant fees. These are the Andheri, Goregaon, Mulund and Vile Parle swimming pools.

The others, at Chembur, Dadar and Kandivali, are run by the BMC.

The BMC hiked the fees for the civic-run Dadar swimming pool last year by nearly 40 per cent.

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