After agonising wait, Fatorda pool to get a new lease of life
Times of India | 5 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 02:23 am
Times of India
5 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 02:23 am
Panaji: For a long time, the swimming fraternity in Goa has been deprived of basic facilities where they could train and prepare for national championships. Even those who swim for leisure were left without any place for their regular activity. The state-run swimming pool at Campal and then Peddem sports complex took agonisingly long to be refurbished, but there was no such luck with the pool at Fatorda, lying in ruins since being closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, there are reasons to be optimistic. The Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) has started work at the swimming pool in Fatorda. The pipelines, wherever needed, will be replaced, new tiles, filtration tanks and plants will also be installed. "We want the best work to be done by the end of January,” said Deepak Lotlikar, executive engineer at SAG. “The files are cleared, work has started. We are making the pool as good as the one at Campal. The pool was getting outdated. With work such as new tanks, sand, pipelines, fitting of tiles, there will be no complaints in the future." The swimming pool at Fatorda became operational in 1997. Without much maintenance work, the pool was crying for repairs: the operating systems were outdated, pipeline corroded and the less said the better about the structure. "I was running from pillar to post but nothing moved for a long time,” said Goa Swimming Association secretary Sudesh Nagvekar. “SAG officials didn't answer my phone calls, knowing I would ask them ugly questions about the Fatorda pool. We were always told that tenders have been floated, files sent for approval and forwarded to the concerned departments. The answers were bureaucratic. The work has now started, so let’s wait and watch.” According to Nagvekar, Margao has not produced any swimmer in the last 10 years due to regular coaching classes, popularly known as RCC, being stopped a few years ago. "The water quality was bad, as a result of which the swimmers were getting rashes. The pool was in a dilapidated state, the filtration process was not at optimum level. Who will send their kids to swim in such a pool? The RCC scheme had to be stopped and it killed the interest of people in Margao and nearby areas," said Nagvekar. Even with all those obstacles, a few enthusiasts and a group of senior citizens continued swimming till the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to all sporting activities. "I had to go all the way to Ponda for swimming after the Fatorda pool was closed. We had a group of 30 senior citizens who swam here regularly," said 58-year-old Angelo Barreto from Curtorim. For more than two and half years, the pool was closed to public. According to Lotlikar, the facility will now be thrown open by January end or the first week of February. "We don't want to do a patch up job. Once it is done, it should continue for a long time. I am personally monitoring the process. The structure will get a facelift too," said Lotlikar.
![After agonising wait, Fatorda pool to get a new lease of life]()
