Disabled coach upbeat about HC stay order

For 43-year-old Manoj Khaire, a devoted swimmer, Bombay High Court’s Thursday order staying Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) redevelopment plan for Mahatma Gandhi Olympic Memorial Swimming pool (MGOMSP) at Shivaji park has come as a big relief.

Winner of the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Rajya Kreeda Award in 2001, Khaire is a disabled coach at the pool. He is also one of the five petitioners fighting against BMC’s controversial redevelopment plan for the pool.

For Khaire, who also runs a PCO booth in Prabhadevi, the swimming pool has turned his disability into an ability. “I have polio since birth but I’ve derived great strength from this pool. I needed exercise, so I would come all the way from Prabhadevi to swim here. Since it’s a BMC pool, the fee was affordable,” he said.

Khaire was lucky to come across another disabled coach Rajaram Ghat, also a state awardee, who swam across the English channel. “He was an inspiration for me. But it was under the guidance of Percy Hakim, that I participated at the district, state, national and even in the Para Olympics. I’ve won many medals and awards,” said Khaire.

Members fear that BMC will convert the facility into a mega five-star pool, and make it out of bounds for the middle-class. When asked why he moved court against the BMC, Khaire said, “I coach the disabled, mentally and physically challenged people. I make them participate in competitions at the national level. After redevelopment, the pool will be unaffordable for people like us. The fee is bound to increase,” he said.

The swimming pool would have been closed down on May 30 to pave way for BMC’s redevelopment plans. But the high court granted a status quo order on May 28. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for June 15.