50 swimming pools face closure in Gurgaon

The Gurgaon administration will soon issue closure orders to about 50 swimming pools for not following safety norms and operating without licences.

Two such swimming pools —one in DLF City and another in Sector 30 — were sealed for not obtaining the required licences from the District Sports Council (DSC).

The council regulates swimming pools in Gurgaon.

Gurgaon has about 100 swimming pools in various hotels, clubs, condominiums, schools and colleges.
Just 43 are registered.

In 2006, the Haryana Government had issued a notification, making it mandatory for all the swimming pools to get licences from DSC and follow safety and security norms on the lines of Delhi.

Gurgaon district magistrate R.K. Kataria on Monday said pools running without licences will have to immediately apply or face closure.

Two boys had drowned in two separate pools —that were operating without licences —last year.

“From today, we have initiated the process of regularising the swimming pools in Gurgaon on the lines of Delhi to ensure all safety norms are followed,” Kataria said.

The DM said they had constituted a committee headed by sub-divisional magistrate J.S. Sangwan to identify pools running without licences .

“This committee today sealed two swimming pools for not obtaining licences from the DSC,” he said.
These swimming pools were being run by the Retreat Apartment Owners’ Association of Sector 30 and Oakwood Estate Condominium Association, Akshmeen Marg, DLF city Phase II Gurgaon.

The people operating these swimming pools were issued notices in April last to get registered with the Sports Council but they did not respond, the DM said.