The citizens of Vizag (Visakhapatnam) will soon forget every drab and over-chlorinated swimming pool in the city. Thanks to the government of Andhra Pradesh to suggest a new proposal that is a move initiated essentially to attract more tourists to its shores, and save the beautiful beaches of the city. Vizag shall soon get ‘Sea Pools’, which will bring down the risk of drowning without killing the thrill of an ocean dunking.
What are Sea Pools?
Sea pools very are prevalent in countries like Australia and the US. The entire concept behind creating Sea Pools is to safeguard people from sharks and to control the water temperature. The sea water is filtered and channelized for a genuine salt water swimming experience. Perfect for injecting some novelty into traditional summer cool-down routines, sea pools are partially man-made tidal swimming pools that provide a safer environment for swimmers than the open ocean.
In Vizag, initially these first-of-their-kind pools will be constructed on a pilot basis initially and there will be only 4 sea pools planned for the beaches at Rushikonda, Mangamaripeta, Sagaranagar, and Lawson’s Bay. Later based on their popularity, more Sea Pools will be built along the 23 kilometer beach road. These beaches are considered relatively safer for swimming than others marking the shoreline of the city. The main aim of the PTDC and GVMC engineers is to ensure maximum beach safety, as they have been entrusted with the job of setting up the sea pools, while the tourism department, APTDC, will fund the pilot projects.
The district administration was propelled to take immediate measures to protect lives of the residents because of the recent drowning accident at R.K. Beach a couple of weeks ago, where five people drowned in the treacherous waters. According to the reports, around 465 people have drowned in the sea in the last 10 years.
Safety measure also have been discussed upon that include ensuring the safety of swimmers, increasing the number of lifeguards and deploying all-terrain vehicles, inflatable boats, restriction structures and floating walls etc.
These naturally sourced sea pools will be in line with similar structures found in South Africa and the US, where elevated pools are constructed on beaches with water filtered from the sea. If executed well, this landmark move can only take Brand Vizag higher.
