14-year-old boy’s drowning raises questions of safety

May 04, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:49 am IST - Bidar:

Questions have been raised about safety and also the management of the district swimming pool after the death of a 14-year-old boy in the pool a few days ago.

This is the second death in the pool after it was inaugurated four years ago. The first was a suicide by an engineering student who dived in the pool at night.

Saikumar Shivakumar was found dead five minutes after jumping into the pool. He was part of a group of around 30 boys who had jumped into the pool in the afternoon. The Bidar police have booked a case of drowning due to negligence of the swimming pool staff.

The boy’s parents complained that the pool staff and the life guard did not do their jobs. Pool users complained that several issues needed to be addressed regarding pool maintenance.

“There are no swimming coaches here. How can you have a pool without a coach?” questioned athlete Moulappa Malage. He also alleged that authorities did not replace the pool water after the death of the boy.

“Importantly, there is no citizen involvement in the management of the pool. When the pool was inaugurated, we had requested the district administration to set up a pool users committee. But it was not done,” says long-time pool user Vasantrao Patil.

The boy’s parents maintained the boy did not know swimming. “He went along with his friends and jumped into the pool instinctively,” says Mr. Shivakumar.

Officials of the district sports and youth services said that enough care was being taken. “We have a life guard and a coach in the pool,” maintains Munawwar Daula, officer in charge of the pool. “The boy could not be saved as he did not give a distress signal. We are suspecting that the boy died due to an epileptic shock. We are awaiting the medical report,” he said.

“We are regularly purifying and replacing water. Efforts are being made to ensure users’ participation in managing the pool,” Mr. Daula said.

The Olympic-size pool was built by Nirmiti Kendra engineers at around Rs 3.5 crore.

This is the second death in the pool after it was inaugurated

four years ago

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