The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to hire a new set of coaches and life guards for the swimming pool in My Ladye’s Garden in Periamet.
Following the recent drowning of a boy in the swimming pool, the GCC is planning to take various initiatives to improve safety in the public swimming pools. Civic officials said the pools on Marina Beach and Thiruvottiyur had not been asked to close and would be open on Monday after the summer maintenance work is completed.
They said they had registered an FIR against the persons concerned in the My Ladye’s Garden incident, and the swimming pool would open in a week, only after a new set of coaches and life guards were hired.
Historian V. Sriram said ‘Swimming Bath in the My Ladye’s Garden’ was the first public swimming pool in the city and similar drowning incidents had happened in the past, even before Independence.
“The swimming bath was inaugurated in 1875 in the park. In July 1885, a boy fell into the swimming pool. Only then did they discover that the attendant who was responsible for taking care of the swimming pool did not know how to swim. He ran away and the boy drowned. The pool was very popular among Indians and was completely refurbished by the Zamindar of Kirlampudi of Andhra, and after that, it was known as the Royal Swimming Bath, because he was the Zamindar,” he said.
“The area originally had a lot of ponds. The British were actually using the ponds for fishing. A particular pond, where the Moore market is located, was meant exclusively for ornamental Gaura fish. First time in 1860, the fish was imported. No fishing was allowed in the pond. People were allowed to buy the ornamental fish in the pond,” Mr. Sriram said.
