Civic pools by definition should be affordable

The Wadala pool lying shut

The BMC is considering handing over the management of 13 swimming pools to private entities under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, citing financial losses in running these facilities in Mumbai, an extensive report stated in this paper.

This paper's report also cited that the gymnasium at Kandivli West and Dahisar East swimming facilities are dysfunctional since inception. The expensive machines at these gymnasiums are gathering dust.

One member has expressed concerns about membership fees skyrocketing with the new model, making membership inaccessible.

While a number of BMC pools opened recently, which is welcome as it makes swimming accessible to more people, it is important that fees do not skyrocket so that pools become available, but membership does not.

This paper, in a number of reports shone the spotlight on fee hikes at the Dadar pool that were burning a hole in pockets. For example in 2022, a report in this paper had cited hikes seeing an increase from R4,000 in 2012 to Rs 10,100 in 2022. While one can argue inflation, this is a substantial hike and civic pools are meant to be affordable.

The new model if it comes in, must result in upping the quality of certain swimming complexes, but a fee hike should not be on the cards, pinching people even more than it does currently. What we need is good, functional swimming complexes that should be safe (good tiling around pools, access to medical facilities) and also prove to be the recreational/sporting hubs that they are meant to be.

This city needs to bring about equity when it comes to sporting amenities. With clubs and their astronomical membership fees, plus the fact that membership is closed at so many places, people need to be able to afford these spaces. While the public-private model may up quality, let it not shut off a certain demographic.