Ding dong bell, kids in a well

School trust's bizarre and dangerous swimming lessons in 40-foot well, on for 33 years!

A school trust has been conducting swimming lessons for the last 33 years in a 40-ft well thankfully, the only exercise of its kind in the city.

Children between the ages eight to 15 from the Parle Tilak Vidyalaya, known for its SSC toppers, are members of this implausible club.

The classes are held between 4 pm and 6.30 pm, on weekdays, and costs a nominal Rs 350 for three months.

There are 750 members of the club, and almost as many in the waiting list.



Incredibly, neither the schools, nor the parents, even for a moment, think swimming in an impossibly deep well is dangerous.

Said Aparna Lele, whose Std IVu00a0 child from the same school has joined up. "Why should it be dangerous? There are more instructors here than in a regular swimming pool.

My child is their responsibility and I trust them completely." During the boys' swimming hour there are five instructors, while there are three when the girls swim.
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Tejashri Malwankar, whose son is also in Std IV, said, "He has been taking lessons since the last one year. If he learns to swim in a well, he can swim in an ocean. It's also more affordable."u00a0

And the danger

Swimming coach Dr P Mohan Reddy, who teaches at IIT, Powai, said, "I cannot reiterate strongly enough how absolutely dangerous it is to teach swimming lessons to a child in well that is 40-foot deep.

It doesn't matter that there are many instructors watching over the kids. In a training pool, the depth should never be more than three feet.

In fact, the bottom of the pool should always be visible." The deep end of a swimming pool ranges from six to 12 feet.

Reddy added that the first step towards confidence in a pool is to teach the child to tread water, which is impossible in a near bottomless well.
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Meanwhile, the principal trainer at the well was decidedly surprised at the dangerous turn that this story took.
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Said Ravindra Naik, "I have taught at least 30,000 students from this school to swim.

And what danger are you talking about? We take every possible precaution to ensure safety and not a single accident has occurred in the last 33 years."

One instructor

He said there was one instructor to one fresher and students were allowed into the well in batches restricting numbers.

Each fresher had a float around his waist. However, this reporter noticed, that veterans got into the well without a float.
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Striking out against Reddy's comment that only the dog paddle could be taught because the child cannot feel the bottom, Naik said, "We first teach breaststroke and then strokes like the butterfly and the freestyle.

But yes, these students cannot compete at the state level because they are limited by a circle as against a rectangular pool."
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Meanwhile babudom shines. PD Karguppikar, Chief Fire Officer said, "It is not advisable to teach children to swim in a well, but I cannot go into details, as I need to look at the well first. I can do nothing to ensure safety."
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And another. Abasaheb Jadhav, BMC education officer, said, "We cannot interfere or take any action, as we have never got complaints from parents. In fact, I learnt to swim in a well."
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Yeshwant Bapat, president of the Parle Tilak Vidyalaya Association, which maintains the well, said, "It's a non issue because we had plans to close the well to expand the school. We will build a swimming pool for our students without increasing the fees."

Interestingly, the well could easily be the only training 'ground' for kids after the BMC imposed a 30 per cent water cut across the city, affecting regular supply and supply to swimming pools and hotels.

So, shall we say, all's well that end's well?

Well, Well

> The water of the well is changed once a year
> Potassium permanganate is used to disinfect the water
> The well is closed during heavy rains
> The radius of the well is 32 feet.
> Each one-hour batch has 25 students
> Students have to wear costumes, while floats are given at the centre.
> Vacation batches comprise 100 students