With crowds cheering and strains of Shingarimelam in the air, actor Mohanlal inaugurated a public swimming pool at the Government UP School in East Nadakkavu in the city on Sunday.
The inauguration of Kozhikode’s own public swimming pool was indeed a moment to celebrate for all those involved in the project. The crowds waited for around two hours to catch a glimpse of their idol. Cat calls for the popular ‘Lalettan’ filled the air and drowned the Shingarimelam for some time.
The police had a hard time controlling the crowd and cutting out a path for the actor to move towards the stage. Elderly ladies and children on their parent’s shoulders were equally enthusiastic about the day. Many flex board had been erected around the beautiful pool premises congratulating the MLA for funding the project. The Kozhikode District Taekwondo Association had lined up their members to greet their brand ambassador Mr. Mohanlal.
The pool, constructed in the land provided by the GUP School by the District Sports Council, using Rs.83 lakh from MLA, A. Pradeep Kumar’s fund, is the first public pool of national standards in Malabar.
A facilitation centre adjacent to the pool, which houses the toilets and other facilities, was built using the District Sports Council’s fund and was inaugurated by Tourism Minister A. P. Anil Kumar. The construction was carried out by the Uralungal Labour Contractors Cooperative Society based on a design by architect P.C.Rasheed.
The pool of 25 x12.5 m size has been built mainly to facilitate swimming training for school children for whom swimming has now been made a mandatory part of education. The students from any school in the district can make use of the facility free of cost. Besides, the public can also use the pool.
The pool can be accessed using a life-time membership of Rs.50,000 or a monthly membership of Rs.1,000.
The pool has in house trainers, coaches and lifeguards, to ensure the safety of the users. A treatment plant has been set up to clean the water in the pool.
M. K. Raghavan, MP, Mayor A. K. Premajam, District Collector C. A. Latha and District Panchayat president Kanathil Jameela were present during the inaugural function.
