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Against the background of the death of a ten- year-old boy in a pool in a city school, experts have urged the State government to set up an independent regulatory authority to ensure safety in swimming pools.
The need for a supervisory body is felt much more in Chennai where swimming pools are mushrooming everywhere. Be it multi-storied residential complexes, schools or amusement parks, the numbers are steadily rising and along with it the number of accidents. M Ranjan, a student of a KK Nagar School is the latest victim.
Presently, there is no designated authority to exercise control or monitor the safety parameters. Hence, the question of safety is always a question mark.
Speaking to City Express, V M Marudachalam, chairman, Institute of Town Planners India (ITPI), Tamil Nadu Chapter said a regulatory body is essential not only to prevent accidents but also to ensure a host of other things like cleanliness and comfort to users. “Now swimming pools are mushrooming across the state with builders trying to provide such a facility to woo prospective buyers. As such there is a need to have a regulatory body,” Marudachalam said.
ITPI secretary Krishna Kumar said swimming pools are permitted in all floors in the building, including the terrace and within the site. In certain buildings the swimming pool is proposed within the flat also. “The responsibility lies with the builder to provide safety measures and the structural stability of the swimming pool. Planners or CMDA hardly have any role. A competent authority would be the Chennai Corporation or department of fire and rescue services,” he added.
Former secretary of ITPI, R Shivakumar concurs with his view. He says as per CMDA regulations, swimming pools are exempted from the purview of the floor space index and coverage, when they are open and similarly Metro Water, which provides no objection certificate, focuses more on the quality of water in the pool rather than the safety mechanisms.
The responsibility lies with the occupiers or association to take necessary precautionary safety measures for the swimming pool by appointing proper coaches and providing related equipment, he says. Under the Town and Country Planning Act and the Development Regulations, the planning aspects like land use, setbacks, coverage and parking are prescribed and compliance is checked before issuing planning permission.
“The structural safety is examined under building rules. For lifts, the operation is governed by the separate licensing authority. Fire safety aspects in multi-storied buildings are periodically inspected by the Department of Fire and Rescue services and the functioning of the swimming pool may also be checked by the department of fire and rescue services,” he added.
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