Today's newspapers claim that Emaar has decided to re-open some of the pools on its properties, but the long-term future of the pools remains uncertain.
The whole debate now revolves around whether these pools are public or private. If Dubai municipality decides that the pools are public, then lifeguards will be needed at all shared pools (and not just for Emaar properties...all developers with shared pools will have to implement these measures).
The pools will be opened on a progressive basis, once modifications are made to enhance pool security. These modifications include enhanced first aid kits, bigger signage, extra life-saving rings, pools safety awareness posters and flyers, some basic first aid courses for residents and the addition of pool supervisors (who are not trained lifeguards).
I don't know, but it seems to me like Emaar is tip-toeing around the issue. Why is it taking Dubai Municipality so long to decide if the pools are private or public? Our pools are private. Period. Technically, it's just residents who are allowed to use the pools, no need for lifeguards. I don't know about beaches in Dubai, but public beaches in Abu Dhabi do not have lifeguards, and in my opinion, beaches are much more dangerous than pools. So why aren't public beaches being scrutinized as well?
It remains the parents' responsibility to ensure safety of their children. Adding supervisors will only serve as a scapegoat for parents who do not want to bear the responsibility of taking care of their children. I can just see it happening: parents telling their children to go to the pool to keep them busy, while the parents are at home, or go shopping, or whatever. Any child under the age of 12 should be accompanied by an adult. No excuses.
Why is it taking so long to get things done and re-opening the pools? Surely, printing a few leaflets and posters, adding life-saving rings, and bringing in supervisors cannot take THAT long! Is Emaar just trying to shut its residents up because of the recent outburst of anger and complaints? Why re-open only SOME of the pools, not all of them? And from what I understand, the pools are not yet open...so when will the actual re-opening take place? At the end of March, like Emaar initially said it would be? Is Emaar just trying to stall?
It reminds me of a parent telling a child "inshallah" when the child asks for something, only to shut the child up and stop their nagging. Why can't Emaar just be transparent about things? Why does everyone always try to butter things up? Honesty always is the best policy, and maybe, just maybe, by adopting such a policy, Emaar will build its credibility and set itself apart. Maybe, honesty can actually be a good thing for Emaar. Did they ever think of that?
1 comment:
It's totally ridiculous.
The marina pools are meant to be open again, but we still can't access our tower pool.
The only one that's open that we can get to is the lap pool at the gym - which is now full of kids, so swimming laps becomes impossible!
They have big signs everywhere - no diving, no running etc etc - common sense really around pools!
All the kids that we saw in the pool were being watched carefully by their parents/grandparents - just the way that it should be.
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