After children complain of stomach and skin ailments, Thane pool shuts for repairs

The Yashwant Rama Salvi swimming pool at Kalwa, operated by Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), has again got complaints. After a flood of complaints, the TMC has decided to shut the pool for repairs. Parents of children, who use the pool, claimed that the water is contaminated. They said there is a leakage in the pool and the filtration plant damaged.

“Children have been complaining of stomach and skin ailments,” said a local corporator.

The parents alleged that the pool water has been contaminated for the last 15 days and the agency which maintains the pool had written to the civic authority to repair the pool. But, no action has been taken.

Sakshi Parab, 36, a resident of Janaki Nagar, said, “My son, a student of class 1, goes to the pool for practice. For the last two weeks, he has been complaining that the water is murky and this has been causing itching. He had boils on his skin so we did not send him for swimming for a few days. After he resumed swimming lessons, the boils were back.”

Parab said they had informed the operators their complaints were not addressed.

Asha Mane, 32, resident of Shashtri Nagar, said, “My eight-year-old son used to complain of stomach ache after returning from swimming classes. He also has fever for the past four days. We came to know that there is leakage in the pool due to which the level of the water dips. The filtration plant does not function.”

Opposition leader and Kalwa NCP corporator Milind Patil did a check on the pool after complaints from the parents. “The water is dirty and the filter is not working. The level of the water too was lower than usual. I will take the issue forward with the civic authority,” he said.

Sandeep Malvi, deputy municipal commissioner of TMC, said, “We have received several complaints and have decided to close the pool for a few days to carry out repair work. There is a technical fault in the filtration unit.”