3 years on, Sec 63 pool remains inaccessible to city swimmers

MOHALI: Ignored by both the Punjab Sports Department and the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), the swimming pool at the Sector 63 sports complex — the only Olympics-size (50m) pool in the district — continues to remain inaccessible to the budding swimmers.

The entrance gate to the Sector 63 swimming pool in Mohali remains shut. Vicky

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 20

Ignored by both the Punjab Sports Department and the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), the swimming pool at the Sector 63 sports complex — the only Olympics-size (50m) pool in the district — continues to remain inaccessible to the budding swimmers.

The pool was thrown open to public in 2015, but persistent technical issues meant that it remained out of bounds for most of the time in the last three years.

In 2016, the pool was closed after six pipes that carry water from the filtration tanks to the pool were damaged. In 2017, the facility was opened partially for a couple of months before being shut due to some technical issues.

The pool was opened for some time in 2018, but had to be closed once again due to leakage. This year also the pool is likely to remain closed as there is no clarity on the repair works yet.

“We had a series of meetings with GMADA officials in this regard. Even the Sports Secretary approached the officials concerned, but the situation remains unchanged,” said Kartar Singh, Assistant Director, Department of Sports.

“They (GMADA officials) say that they have handed over the pool to the State Sports Department and they are not concerned about its maintenance. But we cannot carry out the repair works without involving the relevant government agencies. We are bound by the rules, we cannot overlook them,” Kartar Singh added.

Meanwhile, Sunil Kansal, Chief Engineer, GMADA, refused to comment on the issue. “You should come and meet me during the office hours. I cannot open the files after reaching home,” Kansal said when he was asked about the sorry state of the Sector 63 pool.

There are three more swimming pools in Mohali — Phase V, Sector 71 and Sector 78 — but all of them are 25m in length.

In 2016-17, the Mohali Swimming Association had hosted the Punjab State Junior Championship at the Sector 63 swimming pool, but since then no district/state/national championship has been held at the venue. “We cannot host the state championship as only the record/timings achieved in 50m pools are taken into account by the national/internationals bodies,” said Parbhat Sharma, secretary, Mohali Swimming Association.

“How can you expect the venue to host the competitions when our trainees are not even getting the access to the pool for practice?” Sharma asked.

“We fail to understand the problem. It has been three years and the authorities concerned are yet to find a permanent solution to the issue. Our trainees are forced to practise in the 25m pools, which is not going to improve their performance by any means,” he added.