Swimming pools shut in Chennai after boy’s death

CHENNAI: Want to take a swim as summer begins? You may have to visit a private swimming pool, as the Greater Chennai Corporation has closed all its three swimming pools for maintenance and review after a seven-year-old boy drowned in a pool on Tuesday evening.
Officials said the corporation has closed the My Ladies Park swimming pool in Periamet, where the boy drowned, while the contractor has closed the two swimming pools, in Tiruvottiyur and Marina.

Ravi, who supervises the Marina swimming pool, said they maintain all three swimming pools in the city, and they have closed the other two for maintenance works.
“In Marina, there’s an EB cable fire issue, and the tank too is damaged. The tiles are broken. In Thiruvottiyur, there is a water supply problem. The corporation has asked us to fix this,” he said.
Officials said they do not know when the pools would be opened as the contractor was protesting. “We plan to bring in stringent age restrictions and rules on payments too. The contractor took the swimming pools under the previous regime with vague laws. Now with the age restrictions, he may lose out on revenue so he is protesting. Further, rules of life jackets, instructors, and life savers, will also be made,” said an official.
Recently, the corporation developed the Marina swimming pool by fixing all the tiles but closed it again for maintenance.
Ravi said the corporation does not pay them anything for maintenance and expects them to maintain the pools. “We are maintaining it at our own cost,” he said.
The corporation contractor charges 50 per hour at its pools, and about 500 people, mostly children around 10 years old, visit the pool.
J Logachandran, a sports trainer in north Chennai, said it is important the corporation only allows children aged above nine.
“The kids must be in a position to understand instructions and repeat them. Those below eight may not be fully understanding and it is risky to send them to deeper parts of the pool. There should be a trainer for every five children. Usually, one trainer handles more than 10 children and they lose focus,” he said.