Members of swimming pools run by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) have protested against the civic body’s move to involve private parties to manage them.

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They have requested mayor Yogesh Behl and municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma to intervene and prevent the move to rope in contractors.

A couple of months ago, the PCMC had decided to lease out the swimming pools to private contractors, which did not succeed. Members of the Nigdi-based Chhatrapati Shivaji swimming pool have written a letter to the civic body requesting it not to let contractors run the pools.

They said the pools are not a means to earn revenue for the PCMC. “Rather, it is a public place where people come to maintain their health. So, there is no reason why it should be handed over to private parties,” said Ganesh Kirange and Dinesh Thakkar.

According to another member, Suresh Rajbhog, the private contractors will use the pools for activities such as pool-side parties. “They may misuse the amenities. The members are against the idea of contractors running the pools,” he added.

Assistant municipal commissioner Sahebrao Gaikwad said it is good that people want the corporation to run the pools. “We had floated tenders inviting bids for Sangvi and Nigdi pools. But we are not getting enough response. We just got three tenders, of which only one qualified,” he added.

But no decision has taken been taken about those two pools, he added.