HANAMKONDA: The Hanamkonda district administration has increased the monthly fee for the government swimming pool by 100 percent, daily swimmers and students criticised not affordable.
For the past twenty years, the swimming pool has been dedicated to the citizens of the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC). After being closed for one year for repairs, the swimming pool was reopened with an increased monthly fee.
Earlier, the monthly fee was Rs. 500, and later it was increased to Rs. 750. After the renovation of the swimming pool, the fee was hiked by 100 percent, and Rs.1,500 per month is now being collected.
Senior expert swimmers, including advocates, teachers, professors and senior citizens were staged protest in front of the government swimming pool at Balasamudram in Hanamkonda on Thursday morning. They demanded the withdrawal of the increased monthly fee.
Speaking at the protest, N. Praveen Singh a senior swimmer from Hanamkonda, stated that every month he gets about Rs 45,000 profit from the earlier fee prices. There was no need to hike the monthly fee of the swimming pool from the swimmers. Sufficient funds for the swimming pool maintenance and staff salaries and other expenditures for the swimming pool.
I have collected the information from the District Youth and Sports Officer under the Right to Information Act (RTI), and no additional fee collection is required for the maintenance of the swimming pool. However, the authorities deliberately doubled the fee, and it is a burden to the student and expert swimmers.
We approached the Warangal West MLA Naini Rajender Reddy for the revocation of the fee. We requested it not be possible to pay the students and senior citizens, and in the Praja government, it is not justice to the common citizens. The representation was submitted to the Hanamkonda district collector, Chahat Bajpai, several times, but our efforts went into vain.
In the recent past Rs 41 lakh was spent for the renovation of the government swimming pool, and why the authorities increased the prices. For better wealth, a government providing facilities, however, the authorities are trying to get the appreciation from the elected representatives by increasing the monthly fees. Every day 300 to 500 come to the pool to learn and swim,said Praveen Singh.