Mumbai: BMC dismantles faulty structures at Malad pool

Starting blocks that were installed incorrectly at a recently inaugurated swimming pool in Malad have finally been dismantled in the wake of middayrsquos recent Test Drive series which highlighted the risks posed to swimmers by civicrun swimming pools Most such facilities lack adequate safety equipment The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC opened swimming facilities at Dahisar and Malad on April 1 but its inspection team apparently overlooked installation errors as starting blocks had been set up at the shallow end of the pool endangering beginnersA senior civic official assured midday that the starting blocks at the Dahisar facility which is frequented by a number of beginners will also be unscrewed soon Following middayrsquos series the BMC consulted experts and learnt that the starting blocks were installed at the shallow end for experienced swimmers who are aware of the specific technique the slant dive that must be executed on them to avoid injuryAfter midday underscored the danger posed by the starting blocks the usually tightlipped BMC public relations officer PRO on April 27 send an email attempting to justify the move But the PRO chose to remain silent when midday counterquestioned him about the severe lack of safety and medical infrastructure at the facilities Each facility has nearly 2000 members and most of them are beginners according to sources in the BMCAlso Read Mumbai Did you know BMC takes no responsibility for swimming pool mishapsThe dismantled boardsldquoLearners are always excited to execute nosedives These novices climb atop the starting blocks installed at the shallow end of the pool and jump off But the water is only threefeetdeeprdquo said a source ldquoBeginners often overestimate the depth of the pool and this could lead to serious to fatal injuries It is good that you have highlighted the matterrdquo added the sourceSources had told midday that civic officials are on a spree to open swimming pools in Mumbai as lsquothe BMC babus have to wow their seniors with the revenue they generateAfter the series was published last week the BMC Public Relations Officer PRO Tanaji Kamble wrote We would like to clarify that the information mentioned in the news is not factual His email read ldquoDahisar West swimming pool is a lsquopractice swimming poolrsquo and not a diving pool Hence diving in this pool is not permitted No diving board has been provided in this pool The photographs in the article show a lsquostarting blockrsquo which is provided for racing and these are installed at the shallow end because the race starts from the shallow end and the swimmer is supposed to take a 360degree turn at the deeper end without hitting his legs to the floor The position of these blocks is not required to be changedrdquoAsked about other infrastructurerelated issues raised by this newspaper he said ldquoI am waiting for the department concerned to replyrdquo A source at the Malad swimming pool asked ldquoWho will ensure that these dismantled starting blocks will not get misplaced Civic officials might install them at their political masters private pools to earn brownie pointshellip who knowsrdquo ldquoThe dismantled starting blocks must be kept at a location under the surveillance of CCTV camerasrdquo suggested the sourceBMC speaksDeputy Municipal Commissioner Kishor Gandhi said ldquoAfter reading middays article about the Malad and Dahisar swimming pools we studied the situation with the help of the experts These are not diving boards but starting blocks which are used in the Olympics We learnt that they are dangerous for new swimmers and if a learner jumps off a starting board they can get injured As a safety precaution we decided to remove the starting boardsrdquoHe added ldquoBut the recently opened facilities at Malad and Dadar are not Olympicsized swimming pools They are for beginners ldquoThe civicrun Shivaji Park swimming pool is an Olympic swimming pool where only professionals are allowed and we also fixed starting boards there at the shallow end According to the Olympic swimming pool rules these starting boards should be fixed at a height of three feet because this is the starting point for swimmers Experienced swimmers know how to enter threefoothigh waterrdquo DMC Gandhi explainedldquoWe have removed the starting boards from the Malad pool and they will be removed from the Dahisar one too If any competition takes place at these two pools we will fix the starting boards and remove them after the contest is overrdquo he said2000No of Malad poolrsquos members