Beat the heat with caution: Check safety measures before diving into pools

There is no dearth of guidelines, which are given in detail in the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies (regulation and monitoring of swimming pools) Rules, 2015. But, many private players do not adhere to these guidelines laid down by the rule, alleged experts.  

Common swimming pool maintenance mistakes includes absence of lifeguards with basic swimming and cardiopulmonary revival skills, non-availability of lifebuoys, poor maintenance of water and errors while adding chemicals to cleanse water, said swimming instructors in the city. 

“Most of the private swimming pools here have obtained permission to construct but not to operate,” said M Pandian, swimming coach for special Olympics and para Olympics athletes. 

According to the rule, after completing the construction of the swimming pool, the owner or occupier should submit a completion report along with an application to the executive authority for grant of permission and no-objection certificate to operate the facility. 

“However, most of them do not have permission to operate,” said Pandian. It is not just the facilities that are lacking. Many of the swimming instructors employed by hotels and others do not possess a valid certificate from the government which is mandatory, he added. 

“Many private players to continue to operate swimming pool with several defects due to lack of monitoring by the government officials,” Pandian said. “I sent my kid to swimming coaching without knowing the rules and regulations. I trusted the coach, who looked good to me,” K S Kumar, a T Nagar resident, said. 

According to the rules, regular and random inspections of swimming pools should be carried out by the executive authority and the inspecting authority. If the executive authority finds out any defects, the owner or occupier of the swimming pool would be issued a showcause notice, which should be replied to within seven days. 

The owner would be given a specific period to rectify the defects. If the defects pointed out in the show-cause notice are not rectified within the time, the executive authority would suspend the using the pool. G Premkumar, district sports officer, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), said most private swimming pool owners failed to report on the status of their pools. 

“Every year, they should submit a detailed report about the swimming pool, including the usage, availability of life saving kits and the source of water procurement,” he said. “There is no proper census on swimming pools in the city. Most private swimming pool owners do not even inform that they have a pool at their residence,” said a senior Chennai Corporation official, seeking tighter laws and strict enforcement. 

Premkumar said after few death incidents in swimming pool recently, the officials are geared up to inspect all the swimming pools including those owned by private persons. The officials also blamed parents for sending their children to swimming coaching without verifying the expertise of the trainer. “Most of the trainers are unqualified,” he said.