Mumbai: Pool stop, full stop at Shivaji Park

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Olympic MGMO Swimming Pool at Swantantryaveer Savarkar Road DadarShivaji Park which has been closed since March 12 for work on pumps and maintenance matters was supposed to be inaccessible till March 24 The approximate 8000plus member base of the iconic Dadar pool many of them already irked by the closure was looking to plunge back into its waters and their exercise routine post Holi Now the reopening has been pushed back to April 2 ldquoThe work is on but we will be unable to adhere to the earlier deadline as a lot needs to be done yet We are sincerely hoping to finish by April 2rdquo said the pool managementDate waitldquoDays earlier this pool had a notice citing the closure date till March 24 which was posted on a banner at the gate That date was after a few days erasedpainted over leaving a blank space on the banner of the pool gates Now there is information that they are looking at an April 2 openingrdquo said the pool authorities who did not want to be named ldquoThe repairs and maintenance work of the pool is ongoing and we are unable to restart on March 26 which we have stated earlier We too want to restart as soon as possiblerdquo they addedWork on at the pool site Repairs face lift on at the poolValidity pleaseA group of the facilityrsquos members met recently to talk about pressing the management for an extension in their annual membership validity as days have been lost due to closure The pool management spokespersons assured ldquoWe will be giving an extension We will have to give it as the pool has been closed for more than a fortnight now and members have lost outrdquoDoubt remainsMembers welcomed the announcement though there is some scepticism ldquoMaintenance is a must for standard operations Members are paying their hardearned money towards fees for the Olympicsized pool BMC needs to extend the validity of the pass for the days lost it is that simplerdquo said Tarun Bhansali a member Jitendra Singh who is also a member stated ldquoWe want our annual pass to be extended Members have suffered not just physically but mentally too as there is so much uncertainty as to when we will be able to use the pool againrdquoArunkumar Mishra Railways and Maharashtra water polo coach added ldquoI hope they can stick to their word about the April 2 reopening There are question marks especially as we were first informed that it was to be closed only till March 24 Since that was not adhered to people are also now sceptical about other aspects We recently had a meeting about the validity of our membership being extended to make up for the days lostrdquoMishra is also concerned as the junior nationals water polo is coming up within approximately three months and the players need a pool to practise ldquoWe will also see a heavy rush of students to want to avail of the amenities next month as most exams should be over and parents want their children to be able to access the pool in summerrdquo said the coachExtensive workThe MGMO spokesperson said ldquoThe pumps needed to be changed We have run trials and all seems on track now We are also working on getting the broken tiles fixed near the pool We are installing granite which will be very goodAfter all we want an international class facility There has been no extensive work done over the past 12 years just some basic maintenance so we are doing comprehensive work The delay has been unfortunate and has inconvenienced members Yet we are convinced that it is to everybodyrsquos advantage to do a thorough job once and for all This largescale work including additional maintenance is the reason for the date changerdquoThe pool authorities also claimed that they have initiated a helpline number 18001233060 specifically for queries about the swimming poolApr 2Revised date of expected reopening