PUNE The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has sealed eight swimming pools in the city as the contractors who were running the pools were not able to pay the rents amounted to ₹3 crore.
This is a set back for residents who were excited to take a plunge as Covid restrictions are lifted and it is the most popular activity during the summer.
According to PMC sports department, the civic body has built 34 pools for public, of which 18 are currently closed. The other 16 pools are functional and are on contract basis. During the pandemic all pools were shut and a rent of ₹30,086,000 is pending for the past six years from eight contractors. These contractors were given repeated notices to pay the pending dues. Since they did not pay the rent, the pools were shut down.
“It is necessary to do the repair and maintenance work of the swimming pools which are closed down, for which fund allocation has been done in the PMC budget. We will soon float tenders and make sure these pools are functional for the public. Some of the contractors are ready to do the repair works on their own, and that amount will be reduced from the rent amount,” said Santosh Warule, PMC sports department head.
PMC additional commissioner Dnyaneshwar Molak said, “Due to the restrictions imposed in the pandemic period all the swimming pools were closed for public use. So, we had given a proposal to cancel a rent of ₹2.61 crore of this period from the contractors, but the remaining amount which is before the pandemic period needs to be paid. And so, we had closed these eight swimming pools in the city,”
{{/usCountry}}PMC additional commissioner Dnyaneshwar Molak said, “Due to the restrictions imposed in the pandemic period all the swimming pools were closed for public use. So, we had given a proposal to cancel a rent of ₹2.61 crore of this period from the contractors, but the remaining amount which is before the pandemic period needs to be paid. And so, we had closed these eight swimming pools in the city,”
{{/usCountry}}The swimming pools which have been closed by PMC are - Pramod Mahajan swimming pool, Shukrawar peth; Sulochana Kudale swimming pool, Vadgaon; Nanasaheb Parulekar swimming pool, Yerawada; Shivajirao Bhosale swimming pool, Shivajinagar; Ramesh Vanjale swimming pool, Sinhgad road; Bartakke swimming pool, Warje; Appasaheb Jagtap swimming pool, Dhankawadi and Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj swimming pool, Warje.