One of the city's oldest pools, Shahaji Raje Krida Sankul (SRKS) at Andheri, shuts down due to bad management
Mumbai is more than blessed with rains, but the same cannot be said for its swimming pools.
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The city barely has any good swimming pools and no new ones are in the making. Furthermore, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seems least bothered to maintain the existing ones. One of the city’s oldest swimming pools, Shahaji Raje Krida Sankul (SRKS) at Andheri (west), shut down two weeks ago due to lack of maintenance on the civic body’s part.
The pool is frequented by locals during summer vacations, and many 'are annoyed at the lack of access this year. The pool, which is otherwise shut during monsoon, has been shut since 15 days and was non-functional during April and May, too.
The members of the swimming pool have now come together to protest against the administration. They have drafted a letter complaining against the pool’s shabby maintenance and how their money has been wasted because of these irregularities. Recently, the SRKS had also started soccer training for the kids and scuba diving, which had reportedly received good response. However, members claim that these sports would meet the same fate as the pool if such mismanagement continues.
B Mhatre, one of the swimming pool members, said, "We feel harassed with the management’s attitude. Our annual membership is being wasted as the pool keeps shutting down every now and then. They do not take care of the pool in spite of spending so much money on it.”
Manisha Dwivedi, another swimming pool member, said, “I might reconsider my membership with SRKS next year. I have been deeply troubled with irregular shutdowns. The water in the pool is dirty and it hasn’t been cleaned since six months.”
One of the employees of the SRKS, requesting anonymity said, “These accusations arent true. We might have shut the pool for a day or two to remove the dirt, not for a long duration. We will shut it during monsoon. The pool is currently open.”u00a0