Mangaluru: The public swimming pool of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) at Lalbagh will be open for public by the end of March.

After two long years MCC has decided to open Mangala Swimming Pool for the public based on a recent direction from the government. Accordingly, MCC has started the necessary maintenance to repair the pool by replacing tiles.

Mayor Premanand Shetty said the repair work has been progressing quickly. “We have decided to open the pool to the public as the government has given directions that all those who have taken two doses of vaccine may be allowed. More lifeguards will be appointed on contract basis,” he said.

“The MCC had dismantled an old filter plant and equipped the pool with an ozonisation plant to ensure the quality of water and to cut maintenance cost. The new ozonisation plant installed at a cost of Rs 98 lakh was inaugurated in February 2019. The plant will save approximately Rs 50 lakh per year for the MCC since it does not require replacement of water from the pool every six months. With the new ozonation plant, the water needs to be replaced once every two or three years.