CHENNAI: After almost a year, the Chennai Corporation's swimming pool near Marina beach will be thrown open to the public from March 1.
The pool was closed during the lockdown in March last year during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has subsequently remained shut in order to carry out maintenance and renovation work.
“We have replaced around 2,000 broken tiles in the pool and also renovated the area near the ticket counter along with changing the roofing and painting the space,” said a corporation official.
In addition, repairs to the pathway and toilets have also been made along with maintenance of the water treatment plant, the official added.
“Around 80% of the work is already complete and the remaining will be finished in the next ten days. We have kept in mind that the pool will be open again before summer because it is in great demand, especially among students, in the season,” said a staff member of the contract agency that handles maintenance work of the pool. The maintenance of the pool had been outsourced to a contractor for a period of ten years by the city corporation based on the revenue sharing model.
The staff member said that whether or not there will be any changes to the current charges of Rs 15 an hour for use of the pool will be known only during the time of reopening.
However, city residents who had been returning disappointed after finding the pool closed will now heave a sigh of relief.
“The pool is a great place even for a group to hang out during the summer. The pool itself is usually very well maintained but the restrooms and changing rooms needed maintenance. Hope they are also taken care of, after the renovation,” said Sabari K, who recently completed his undergraduate degree and is a regular visitor to the pool.
“Usually we find that there is not much of a rush during weekdays but it tends to get a bit crowded during weekends so it’s also important to ensure that COVID-19 safety protocols are in place,” he added.