Yentha Exclusive: Play Blame Games This Summer - Trivandrum News

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Yentha Exclusive: Play Blame Games This Summer

Rohini Kumar finds out how to play these blame games and why at Water Works there is neither water nor work

On May 05, 2011

Another summer is here. Most kids are at vacation classes indulging in what they love most. Playing. Dancing. Painting. Acting. No parent would want their kids to idle their summer holidays. But for the last two years, if you happen to love swimming, chances are that you would be twiddling your thumbs and little fingers over TV remote controls. And, curling up into perfect couch potatoes.

Old swimming pool

The only swimming pool within city limits, the one under the Kerala Water Authority, is under repair for the second consecutive summer. And no one seems to be complaining. This swimming pool is earmarked for the 35th National Games to be hosted in the city. Since that announcement, the pool has been under renovation. Now for more than a year, most of the work has even stopped.

Proposed pool site (RCC remnants can be seen)

Anuradha, Assistant Professor at Attingal Engineering College sounded quite crest-fallen. “KWA’s swimming pool was a regular spot for my son’s vacation activities. He enjoys his swimming. But for the last two years the swimming pool has been shut down. This vacation, he is sitting at home and watching television,” she lamented.

As the authorities play the blame game, the kids are the ones who are left low and dry. The National Games Secretariat (NGS) and Kerala Water Authority (KWA) are the two main players in this game. Here is the game.

KWA's water main pipeline running across filtration plant

NGS was given the swimming pool renovation and construction project in Jan 2010. A project valued at approx. Rs.9 cr. NGS was to renovate the existing pool and construct a new pool simultaneously. Eventually, the renovated pool will be used as a warm-up pool for the Games.

However, construction work for the new pool stalled. The two main water pipelines running through the construction site had to be shifted to a favorable location. This was KWA’s responsibility and had to be completed in two months. NGS claims that it took a year while KWA says it took 4 months longer than the agreed time limit. An old drain running underneath the site, posed yet another challenge. NGS had to strengthen this. That was extra work. Such challenges are usually foreseen and planned for, before such a contract is inked.

Contruction area at KWA swimming pool site

Now, KWA seems to have simply washed its hands off as they claim that they have completed their part. But the NGS work is at a snail’s pace. During Yentha’s visit to the site the first time, there was not a single worker at the site. But this week, labour and machinery have been mobilised. The contractor, however, is not happy with the progress as they keep finding remnants of RCC structures that previously existed. Each day they discover something new. The workers, the other day, found out another water pipeline and a drainage running along the pool construction site. The earlier ones were at the filtration plant site. This would require assistance from the KWA to remove them. Yet, another spin to the story. A light leakage in one of the pipelines has got the contractor concerned. “This would disrupt water supply in the colonies nearby,” he rued.

Water leakage from the pipeline underneath

Evidently there is a lack of coordination among these groups or the planning has gone awry. Eventually there would be cost and time escalation. For no fault of the public, tax payers’ funds will be ‘misused’ for someone’s ineptitude.

Open end of the drainage running along the construction site

There are the facts of this game. The sad aspect is that these have nothing to do neither with the kids nor with the public. Kesavan Nair, swimming coach shares his bag of woes, “I have been training swimmers for state as well as national levels. After my retirement, I took to coaching. The pool always had a huge turnout during summer vacation. Up to six hundred children would show up every summer. Being a government run programme, the training here was affordable. Sadly, it is now deserted. The pools at the major Clubs and large hotels have a windfall thanks to this. Even the newly started pool at Karumam uses lake water and is very unhygienic.” The contractor in passing mentions, “even now there are parents coming in to ask where to send the kids for swimming”.

The game is up. Those wishing to take their kids to a decent swimming pool in the capital city may have to wait at least another 12 months at the very least. This is a new game they should start to learn – the waiting game.

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