AHMEDABAD: Despite a slew of representations demanding simultaneous access to swimming pools for men and women, there has been little change to the policy of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in this regard. Of the 14 pools run by the AMC, just one, at Sardar Patel Stadium, simultaneous access to women and men from 6am to 9am and 6pm to 7.15pm, according to the mayor, Bijal Patel.Come summer swimming becomes the preferred method of beating the heat, relaxing and getting exercise. For working women, however, most pools in Ahmedabad remain inaccessible.“Not everyone lives in a residential society that has a pool. Not everyone can afford the exorbitant membership fees of city clubs. Finding a pool to swim in is a challenge for working women in the city, as the timings for women-only batches are usually in the afternoon, from 1pm to 4.45pm,” said Foram Patel, a city-based professional.The AMC had announced separate batches for women two years ago at all its swimming pools but the project didn’t get past the pilot stage. “When AMC announced special swimming batches for women in the evenings, I used to go to the pool in Maninagar. That lasted for just two months, after access for women in the evening was discontinued. I’ve not been able to swim ever since,” said Anusha Srinivasan, a professional.Despite women being willing to use community pools at the same time as men, the civic body’s policies are rigid. “In the past, I checked whether AMC-run pools would allow me to swim in the morning, a slot reserved for men. It is not convenient for me at any other time. My proposal was refused up front. I was told timings for men and women are supposed to be separate. If most clubs men and women in their pools together, why can’t the AMC do soat all its pools instead of just one,” said Esha Shah, a corporate trainer.On whether the AMC plans to allow simultaneous access for men and women at other pools, Bijal Patel said, “I have received representations from women and we started the practice at the pool at Sardar Patel Stadium. The number of women coming in is not so high at this point but depending on the response, we will consider how to implement it at other pools.”

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