Mumbai: Did you know? BMC takes no responsibility for swimming pool mishaps

Enthused by the Rs 20 crore generated by its swimming pools last year the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC recently opened two more such facilities at Malad and Dahisar Yet no stress seems to be placed on safety despite these pools witnessing a number of accidental deaths drownings and spinal as well as brain injuries In two and a half months two members died while two others were severely injured But the civic body callously maintains that it lsquoshall not be responsible for any accidentaccident in the swimming pool arearsquoThe bereaved families however ask if not the BMC who is responsible for accidental deaths and injuries The civic body runs eight swimming pools Sources at these facilities told midday that most of the lifeguards are inexperienced and are incapable of rescuing members during emergenciesRenuka Koli who had a heart attack in a pool at Chembur on April 4 right A M Shaikh received 26 stitches after an injury on February 26A source said ldquoA member pays the BMC for using the pool but the municipal corporation appoints a contractor who facilitates lifeguards If a facility requires say 10 lifeguards the contractor deploys only three or four on the ground but the money claimed by the contractor is for 10 Senior civic officials are aware of this corruption but they are tightlipped for reasons best known only to themrdquoAlso Read Mumbai BMC pool opened on April 1 in Malad is drunken dip party venueThe source added ldquoAbove all I know a few lifeguards who did not even know how to swim But the contractor appointed and deployed them at these pools where they themselves learnt how to swim How will a lifeguard rescue people if he does not know how to swim Naturally membersrsquo lives are at risk at pools where inexperienced lifeguards are deployedrdquoThe source further alleged that corrupt contractors are flourishing at the mercy of senior civic officials who have been earning brownie points as the pools have been a financial success The municipal corporation must look into providing better facilities to members at swimming pools instead of looking at pools as moneymaking tools Human life is important and the senior officials must learn thisrdquo the source statedThe source stated that all swimmers are susceptible to accidents due to wet and slippery floors but no arrangements are seen at facilities barring at a few places to prevent people from slipping despite the annual fees being hiked by 10 to 20 per cent said the sourceldquoAbove all if a person gets injured or faces health issues or other emergencies inside the pool these facilities do not have even a stretcher to carry the person to an autorickshaw They donrsquot have an ambulance doctor or first aid kit These are not important for civic officials They only want fees from the membersrdquo added the source The source also stated that due to faulty pool designs members often get head injuries as they overestimate the depthGoregaonA 72yearold Goregaon East resident Vishnu Samant died around 5 pm on Sunday evening after a man accidentally dived into him in the Ozone Swimming Pool The family alleged that the staff rushed him into an autorickshaw as the facility lacked an ambulance service The manager stated that no swimming pool in Mumbai has an ambulance facilityThe civicrun facility in Goregaon where Vishnu Samant 72 was fatally injured on April 23The deceased was a resident of Churiwadi The Goregaon police have registered an FIR against the diver Kaushik Shukla 20 for negligence However no action has been taken against the pool management A family member of the deceased told midday We received a call informing us that Vishnu had been injured and he was admitted to Kapadia hospital When we reached the hospital he found that he had diedThe relative added Vishnu was rushed to the hospital in an autorickshaw Ambulances should be kept on standby in case of emergencies at every pool The pool management has been negligent The instructors or lifeguards are equally responsible because they didnt guide the person while he was diving into the poolChemburA 61yearold Chembur resident Renuka Koli fell unconscious after she had a heart attack while swimming inside the General Arun Kumar Vaidya Swimming Pool on April 4 Her husband Gajanan Koli was present at the time Two lifeguards jumped into the water and rushed her to the hospital via auto where she was declared dead Gajanan had retired seven months ago His wife had been suffering from high blood pressure for the past five yearsChemburA 53yearold Ghatkopar resident A M Shaikh was injured in the same swimming pool where Koli had a heart attack on February 26 He received 26 stitches to his head after a man dived into him from a height of three floors Shaikh alleged that the pool management didnt inform the police about the incident and the latter refused to register an FIR against the former Shaikh told midday that he was rushed to the hospital by his friends as nobody else came forward to help himHe said ldquoThe swimming pool is owned by the BMC but is run and maintained by a private contractor When I was getting out of the pool a man landed on me I fell unconscious in the pool and I dont remember what happened next But my friends at the pool told me that they rushed me into their car and admitted me to the Savla Nursing Home at Chembur The doctors performed skull surgeryrdquoHe added ldquoI complained to the BMC and also approached the Chembur police station about the incident after I recovered but they didnt register an FIR The swimming pool management and hospital also didnt inform the cops about the incident I am hopeless I want to meet the civic chief and wanted to explain my situation The BMC should take all the responsibilityrdquo Shaikh stated ldquoThere was no ambulance doctor or medical equipment I have suffered a lot and am still in pain I complained many times to the BMC but received no responserdquoAkansha Deshmukh a manager at the pool said ldquoIt was Shaikhs mistake After he dived into the water Shaikh started swimming towards a corner of the pool but he then headed to the middle and thats where the accident took place It was his mistake We took him out on a stretcher until a car arrived He was saved but received InjuriesrdquoAsked why the management didnrsquot inform the police about the incident Deshmukh stated ldquoIt was just an incident and he was saved Because of him the other person was also injured They both dont know each other and everything happened by accident because of Shaikhs mistake Why should we complain when its his mistake We dont have an ambulance but we also ordered one and it will come soonrdquo Shaikh said ldquoThe allegations are false The instructor is responsible for checking if anyone is in the water Only after verifying should he give the green signal for diving Itrsquos total negligencerdquoDadarOn February 15 around 610 am 76yearold Pramod Sarangdhar fainted while swimming at the civicrun pool at Shivaji Park As there was no ambulance on standby members had to stop a cab and request a woman who was occupying it to get down Fortunately Sarangdhar recovered fully as he didnt have any medical complicationsBMC speaksWhen asked about the absence of medical facilities at civicrun swimming pools Deputy Municipal Commissioner Kishor Gandhi told midday ldquoThere are no doctors at the pool and the numbers of lifeguards and swimming coaches depend on the number of members of the pool We have been providing facilities like swimming pools toilet bathrooms what elserdquoHe added ldquoTwo new pools at Dahisar and Malad have been opened recently In Dahisar there are 1580 members while in Malad 1110 have enrolled to daterdquo said Gandhi who refused to talk about why swimming pools lack ambulances stretchers and many other potentially livesaving facilitiesApril 23Day last death occurred in civic pool8No of pools operated by civic body