Lahore; After the death of 2 youths, the administration is active against illegal swimming pools

Lahore: After the death of 2 youths in the provincial capital, the administration has taken action against illegal swimming pools.

The splendor of swimming pools also increases, especially in summer, due to which it is becoming a profitable business. While there are many high-quality swimming pools in Lahore, there are also many illegally constructed pools. According to the Swimming Pools have been built without taking permission (NOC) from any government department while the Punjab Government has made it mandatory to take NOC from the Engineering and Sports Department for building swimming pools.

In Gujarpura area of ​​Lahore, a tragic incident of death of 2 youths due to electrocution of a swimming pool took place in the last few days, then the police and other administrative bodies came into action and the swimming pool was closed. Commissioner Lahore Muhammad Ali Randhawa has issued instructions that it will be mandatory to get NOC from the Engineering and Sports Department for building swimming pools, while all divisional commissioners have been instructed to take action against swimming pools operating without NOC.

It should be noted that no government agency has any data on the exact number of swimming pools in the city. Deputy Commissioner Lahore Rafia Haider said that for the approval of swimming pools, Rescue 1122, Metropolitan Corporation and local town administration conduct surveys, but they do not have the authority to give NOC.

Some big hotels and societies in the city have swimming pools, but they are only for local residents and require membership, however, some people have illegally built water parks and swimming pools, where anyone can get a ticket. Organizers of a well-known water park in Wagah town said that no department issues NOC for building a swimming pool, the map was passed from the concerned town and still the town staff collects annual fee. The swimming pool water is checked by the administrators by a laboratory.

According to the management of the swimming pool built on Band Road in North Lahore, they had taken permission from WASA to install the tubewell and have also approved the site plan. Mohammad Riaz, the manager of the swimming pool, said that the swimming pool only runs for a few months in summer. The pool water is regularly cleaned, with chlorine added to keep the water sterile.

An employee of a swimming pool located on Bedian Road, on condition of anonymity, said that during the season, the local town Antamiya and sometimes policemen come and take money from them. They don’t have any OC and don’t know which department gives permission to build swimming pool.

During the investigation, it was also revealed that the swimming pools of Punjab University, DHA, big hotels and few other big societies have staff present all the time to provide security and help to the swimmers in any emergency but in most of the swimming pools this is not the case. There is no arrangement. This is the reason why some unpleasant incident happens at some swimming pool in every season.

Local citizens Abdul Rehman, Waleed Ahmed and Zeeshan Khan say that the swimming pools in big hotels, clubs and societies cannot be entered by the common man, while there are a few big parks like Suzhou Waterpark, where the entrance fee is quite high. Because of this, people head to the Lahore Canal, the city’s largest, open-air swimming pool, to bathe in the summer, or to smaller waterparks and swimming pools that charge a few rupees as a ticket.

Town planning expert Zahid Islam while talking to Express Tribune said that providing entertainment facilities to the citizens is a good initiative but these facilities should be under some law and regulation. Unfortunately, people are building swimming pools in order to make money. Some people have built a swimming pool by just installing an agricultural tubewell. Swimming pools are very important for water sports, but there must be laws and regulations.