Chandigarh: All-weather pool project hanging fire

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, June 16

Lingering since 2019, the project to have the city’s second all-weather swimming pool is yet to see the light of day.

The UT Sports Department had planned to convert the existing swimming pool in Sector 39 into an all-weather facility, but the project is still stuck in files shuttling between the engineering and sports departments.

After inauguration in November 2019 by then UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore, the authorities had announced that the pool would be converted into an all-weather facility. The same year, then Secretary, Sports, KK Yadav said process to upgrade the facility had started. As per the initial plan, the department was to set up a compatible plant at the pool that could be easy to repair and clean.

The city, which has 11 swimming pools under the Sports Department, has only one all-weather facility at the Sector 23 complex. Another such facility is under the Panjab University administration and is open only to the swimmers of the university and affiliated colleges. In winter, only one centre (Sector 23) is available to professionals for training.

The Sector 39 facility is known as kids’ pool with a depth of 2.5 ft on the shallow side and 4 ft on the deep side. It has an approximate length of 25 m. “The department is working on this project. The file (project to convert the facility into an all-weather facility) is still under consideration. Recently, it was held back by the senior officials to re-discuss the budget. However, the official confirmation is still to be made public. If the department wishes to upgrade the facility, then the approvals should be come in the next few weeks,” said a senior official.

Built at an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore, the Sector 39 complex is spread over 1.65 acres. It houses a 25m indoor pool, a multi-purpose hall (which now hosts a table tennis facility) and a yoga centre. An open basketball court and a volleyball court were also proposed to be set up at the site.