BMC gives new year gift to swimming enthusiasts

The objective is to make the BMC pools available for the maximum number of people, said deputy municipal commissioner Kishor Gandhi. It will also help office-goers, who like to swim after their work hours, he added

Mumbai: In a move that is expected to add to the new year cheer of swimming enthusiasts, the municipal pools in the city will be open for three more hours in the evening, till 10 pm, every day. This will be in effect from January 3, 2023.

Mumbai, India - November 05, 2020: Workers are seen cleaning up the swimming pool to make it ready to reopen after government has given permission to reopen the swimming pool after being shut for nearly 6-7 months due to Covid-19 pandemic at A.K. Vaidya Swimming Pool, Chembur in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, November 5, 2020. (Photo by Pratik Chorge/Hindustan Times) (Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)

The move to extend the timing is said to be a bid by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to compete with gymnasiums. As of now, the BMC swimming pools are open till 7 pm.

The objective is to make the BMC pools available for the maximum number of people, said deputy municipal commissioner Kishor Gandhi. It will also help office-goers, who like to swim after their work hours, he added.

At present, most BMC pools are open from 6 am to 10 am in the general shift; 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm for women; and from 5 pm to 7 pm again in the general shift. With the latest move, the general shifts at the pools will be from 6 am to 11 am and from 6 pm to 10 pm. Women can now use the pools from 11 am to 12 noon and from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Elaborating on the extension of the timing at their pools, a senior BMC official said, “In Mumbai, most working people return home by 7 pm or 8 pm. Earlier, most office-goers used to come to swim only in the mornings. Now, they can use the pools in the evenings too.”

The official said that the “batch” system at the pools will also end and each member will be allowed to swim for one hour. Under the batch system, each swimmer was alloted 45 minutes and irrespective of the time spent in the pool, the particular swimmer had to vacate at the end of the batch of 45 minutes.

The official said that BMC has also announced a slew of other changes and upgrades concerning the functioning of their pools.

Addressing the issue of shortage of staff, the BMC has adopted the policy of appointing contractors for providing lifeguards and coaches, and they will work in two shifts as opposed to a single shift earlier, said the official.

In a major upgrade, applying for or renewing memberships for the BMC pools can now be done online. BMC has also created a dashboard which will inform the members about the number of people using the pool at any given point in time, said the official.