AJIT JOHN
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PANJIM: At long last, the swimming pool at Campal will be awash with activity. Reopened earlier in the month, the use of the facility was kept on hold. But swimmers may jot down August 1 in their diaries to pack gear and head to Campal for a casual dip or for focused training.
Ajay Gaude, Director, Sports and Youth Affairs, delivered the good tidings for aquatic enthusiasts. “There are necessary improvements to be made in the next couple of days besides getting the facility disabled friendly,” Gaude said. “In addition, there is some equipment coming from abroad and will be in place in a day or two.”
A clean chit from the Health Department is also forthcoming according to Gaude and the facility also must be made ready to accept 30 trainees as per the Khelo India programme.
Gaude assured the public that the pool would be absolutely ready for use on the aforementioned date even as he spelled out the cost of refurbishment of the pool. “The work order for the refurbishment of the swimming pool was released for around Rs 12 crore, expenditure of which amounted to just over Rs 9 crore.
Gaude explained that the facade of the multipurpose stadium in Campal was done without additional cost. The contractor, Gaude said, was obliged to honour the work order and will maintain the facility for an agreed period of time.
Swimmers in Margao, however, will have to wait for until September. “A rusted pipe has caused the delay,” Gaude revealed. As for pools elsewhere in the state, Gaude said the one at Ponda is operational with four batches of children availing of the facility daily. So are the pools at Vasco and Peddem.
