The Mangaluru City Corporation council has decided to write to the Dakshina Kannada district administration seeking transfer of the newly constructed international swimming pool in Yemmekere to it for better maintenance of the new pool.
Raising the issue during the ordinary meeting of the council held recently, Chief Whip Premanand Shetty said the new pool constructed by Mangaluru Smart City Limited at a cost of ₹24.94 crore is yet to be put to use for public after its inauguration by Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh a month ago.
The complex has come up in two of the 3.57 areas of land that the Deputy Commissioner had earmarked in the name of MCC for the development of a playground and park. The MCC in February 2014 granted a no-objection certificate, based on which, the two acres of land were granted to the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports where MSCL constructed the swimming pool. The complex has a 10-lane 50mX25m pool, a 5-lane practice pool, and a kids’ pool on the second floor, while a gymnasium, restrooms and other facilities for swimmers have been created on the first floor.
Mr. Shetty said that the project cost of ₹24.94 crore, ₹1.8 crore is towards the maintenance of the complex by the contractor for three years. “We need to open it to the public at the earliest and make good of the revenue spent by the government. Moreover, MCC is in a good position to make further investments for improving the facilities at the complex. Therefore, the district administration should hand over the complex to MCC,” he said.
To a question by senior councillor Shashidhar Hegde, MSCL General Manager K.S. Arun Prabha said the new pools were competition pools ideally meant for the practice of swimming athletes and for holding State and national-level swimming events. With the depth of these pools starting at 2.1 metres, Mr. Prabha said more life savers and trainers are needed if they are opened for public use. Meanwhile, the MSCL is studying models of maintenance of similar pools in other parts of the State to find the one that balances the needs of swimming athletes and general public.
