BENGALURU: The effect of the lockdown seems to finally be wearing off, with many spaces, including theatres and swimming pools, getting a green signal to re-open. The Ministry of Home Affairs which cleared all decks for swimming centres to open for the public across the country from Feb. 1, has some swimmers in the city ready to pull out their swim gear.
The Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for the opening was issued on Saturday. SR Sindia, vice-president of Karnataka Swimming Association says, “Fitness enthusiasts were urging me to open the pool before Feb. 1. We will follow the guidelines from the government and act accordingly.” Allaying fears of chemicals being a fresh risk for Covid, Sindia added that the association has submitted a research by the World Health Organization on the safety of chlorine content in swimming pools to the state government. “The chemical proportion is always standard and is not a cause for any sort of infection,” he adds.
Pools usually witness large crowds during summer, with kids thronging the water to get some respite from the heat as well as pick up and fine-tune their skills. However, centers are now skeptical if they will see the same trend as previous years owing to the on-going pandemic. Nihar Ameen, Dronacharya awardee, who is associated with Dolphin Aquatics, says, “The competitive batch had no safety concerns. But we are now ramping up safety as the public batch is open and needs effective control. We will strictly implement the SOPs issued by the government and ensure there is no single case reported.”
At the same time, Latha Mohan, proprietor of Pooja Aquatic Centre in Banashankari has spoken to parents over phone, encouraging them to send their children for swimming lessons. “Most parents are afraid to send them because of the Covid 19 crisis,” finds Mohan. In tandem with this, Sumangala M, a parent of an eight-year-old child is unwilling to send her daughter for any water sport-related summer camp. “The vaccination process is still in the initial stages and I believe the public batch crowd is not safe,” she says.
Some regular lap swimmers are also worried about the risk of getting infected in water which could affect the health of other family members. Recreational swimmer Ramesh K says, “I am not willing to go to the pool and risk my children’s health. I believe the rate of infection spreading in water is high. The vaccines are here but I will refrain from going to the pool for the next six months.” Besides, the swimming pools at luxury hotels in the city which have been shut too all these months will re-open to guests with strict protocols in place. Amaan Kidwai, general manager, ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru says, “We are in talks with medical professionals and disinfectant experts to enhance the existing hygiene and cleaning protocols.”