SOME buildings, fixtures and facilities of yesteryear evoke painful memories of the previous regime.
In stark contrast has been the Balkumar Singh Pool in Asherville, about 8kms from Durban’s CBD, with its apparent refreshing feel.
When it came into existence in the 1950’s and named after a pioneering lifeguard, Balkumar Singh, the pool was the first of its kind for people of colour in the city.
While it was a place for fun in the sun for Asherville residents and others, many top class swimmers, coaches and administrators, who were not out of their depth in international circles, had emerged from those waters.
Various swimming clubs have based themselves there over the years, including Otto, a club that has been buoyant since 1963.
However, the pool lost its sparkle in recent months, due largely to the devastation bought by April’s floods and the city fathers’ failure to mop up immediately afterwards as well as vandals diving in to grab what they could.
After months of lying muddied and mangled, the tide turned for the state of the pool when a group of concerned residents and the local councillor connected with officials of the eThekwini Municipality recently.
It resulted in a programme of rehabilitative work being devised, which began on Monday and was set to continue until the pool is restored to its former status.
Professor Rajen Naidoo, a former swimmer and long-serving member of Otto said the pool being out of use became a great concern for many as its main purpose was to “serve the community”.
Naidoo believed that Asherville’s poor infrastructure, in particular, the drainage system that runs through the adjacent sports fields, resulted in an overflow of water draining into the pool area.
“This also happened about four years ago, but with greater devastation in April.”
Naidoo said the pool was closed when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Facilities re-opened in 2022, but the pool remained shut because of defective pumps.”
He said the closure hampered their efforts to attract new members and grow the club, as they had been doing for a long time.
Naidoo said the pool was named after Singh, who lived on the nearby Tarndale Avenue.
Singh, who spent 39 years working in the furniture industry, had a love for water from childhood, having grown up on the banks of the Umgeni River.
He apparently referred to the river as “our first swimming pool”.
Drownings in the Umgeni were common and this troubled Singh. He responded by establishing a voluntary lifesaving club with his brother Nursingh and a few others.
This eventually led to the formation of the Durban Indian Surf Lifesaving Club in 1933.
Singh’s lifesaving exploits were halted in 1939 when he and other members of his club joined the Indian and Malay Corps of the South African Army, to do World War II duty.
He became the first member of his corps to achieve the rank of sergeant.
After the war, Singh captained the club and eventually became the president.
In his bid for better facilities for the club, Singh sent the City Council a list of demands, which stated their track record and highlighted that hundreds of lives were saved through their exploits.
Through the innovative leadership and endeavours of Singh, the club’s stature grew over the years.
Singh’s biggest accomplishment was easily the securing of the fist swimming pool for people of colour, which came on the back of 23-years of campaigning.
Some of the clubs operating out of the pool in the early days were Daintree, Pearl and Barracuda.
“Apart from swimming, people who became administration leaders in the national and international level grew out of the clubs based there.
“Morgan Naidoo (Professor Naidoo’s father) was the president of the non racial swimming associations affiliated to South African Council on Sport in the 70’s and 80’s.
He was also banned by the government for his anti-apartheid activism.”
Naidoo said Vassie and his brother Dharma Nair also played important roles on the international level, and, in mid 1960’s, together with other role-players from around the country, launched a new national federation.
“The new national body’s first swimming competition for swimmers of colour was held in Asherville.
He said the national leaders were from Otto, and in the 1970s they were responsible for having white swimmers removed from the International federation.
“Sam Ramsamy was also associated with the club and the pool and went into exile in the UK for many years.
“While there, he coached swimming, and in 1972 five swimmers from South Africa went to the Crystal Palace (London) for six weeks of training.
Seelan Nair and Anita Vlotman were Otto's representatives.”
Naidoo said another highlight for Otto was in 2014 when the club celebrated its 50th anniversary.
With help from various organisations, including the Department of Sport, the municipality, and the National Lottery, a clubhouse was built at the pool.
Param Naidoo, Otto’s coach in the 1970’s, was included in the coaching team that went to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Naidoo said they depended on community members joining the club, with some becoming competitive swimmers.
“The older swimmers become admin people and that has been our succession plan, volunteerism at its best,” he said.
Ramsamy said it was “a shame” the pool was left without restoration for that long.
“It was a venue of great inspiration and a superb recreational facility, a first of its kind in South Africa.
“I virtually cried seeing its present state. A derelict of its past glory and an insult to the late BB (Balkumar) Singh who spent his lifetime trying to obtain a swimming pool for black people.
I fervently hope it can be restored,” said Ramsamy.
Ansari Adam, who served the Otto in various capacities, including swimming in many provincial competitions said it was heart-rending to see the pool’s devastation, but was pleased repair work had begun.
“The swimming pool and sports fields are the heart of Asherville. You take those away, you’ve taken the heart of Asherville.
Shireen Nanjee of Asherville recalled her heydays (1970s), having represented the club as a swimmer at the highest levels.
Nanjee said her father’s interest in sport got her swimming and she continues to be associated with Otto.
She said she was pleased that restoration work was on the go.
Ashraf Ali, Otto’s current chairman, said they witnessed a drastic decline in membership in recent times, and hoped things return to normal promptly.
“We will support the efforts of ward 31 councillor, Remona McKenzie, and the steering committee working with the municipality,” said Alli.
McKenzie was amazed by what was achieved at the pool this week.
She said residents came to her about getting the pool back in working order, she had meetings with the municipality and a steering committee, which included members of Asherville Ratepayers Association and Balkumar Singh family members, was formed last week Friday.
“We are very excited about the committee and what we can achieve,” said McKenzie.
Msawakhe Mayisela, the eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson confirmed a steering committee was in place to restore the facility, but were are not aware of any crowd funding initiatives.
Mayisela denied the pool was left unattended, as there was a lengthy procedure they had to follow with insurance claims, hence the delay.
“The municipality was not cornered into working with community, but the initiative was part of our plans. We had identified the need to clean and clear the facility before it becomes a hub for social ills. We had had a meeting prior to commencement of the work at the pool with the councillor and members of the community to plan an integrated approach to restoring this facility,” he said.
After the cleaning and clearing of waste at the facility, Mayisela said they will wait for the insurance company to assess the extent of damage before restoration plans become active.
“At this stage we can not indicate when the pool can be functional again.”
SUNDAY TRIBUNE