LUCKNOW, July 1 -- Uttar Pradesh Swimming Association on Monday registered its official complaint about the 'poor conditions' of an Olympic-sized pool at Lucknow's KD Singh 'Babu' Stadium. In its complaint, it also highlighted the instance of water leakage in the pool during the closing ceremony of the State Aquatics Championship where sports minister Girish Chandra Yadav was invited as the chief guest on Monday. "Participants faced several problems in the meet, and the pool has been leaking since. Aluminium sheets were wrapped all around the pool. Even diving boards are of poor standards," UP Swimming Association's director Ravin Kapoor reportedly told the sports minister. "The minister has assured us that the leakage will be repaired soon and he was unaware of the problems being faced by swimmers here," said Kapoor. "No one can dare to stand in the pool even for an hour as it is covered with aluminum sheets. It feels suffocating." "The changing rooms are in the worst conditions. Things are unorganised. My daughter refused to take a shower after her event as it was stinking and dirty water flooded the floor," said parent Rajat Dixit. Meanwhile, minutes before the prize distribution ceremony of the swimming meet on Monday, top officials of the UP's sports directorate, including principal secretary (sports) Manish Chauhan, sports secretary Suhas LY and director RP Singh were heard discussing sports infrastructure in the state. They were present on the stadium premises. An official communique issued by deputy director (sports) SS Mishra after the meet states that minister instructed all the sports officials of the state to keep an eye on the quality of the construction work of sporting infrastructure. "All officers are being instructed not to take over any sporting infrastructure without checking its quality. There should be a monthly check of the quality of construction," said the minister. It is learnt that Rs 22 crore has already been spent on the KD Singh 'Babu' Stadium's pool since 2008. But still it is not fit to host even a national event. "The contractor should be banned and the government must initiate a high-level inquiry into the construction of this pool. It's a multi-crore scam and only a proper inquiry can reveal the truth," said Ranjit Yadav, a former national weightlifter and the secretary of District Weightlifting Association, on Monday. "I have been a regular at this stadium since my childhood, and I haven't seen this pool in such a pathetic condition. It used to be one of the best pools in the state," said Yadav. "In fact, most of the construction work in the stadium is of poor quality. I am not surprised that only one contractor is awarded all projects." Meanwhile, regional sports officer Atul Sinha confirmed that after a report by Hindustan Times on the discrepancies in the construction of the pool, an inquiry has been initiated at his level. "I have just joined a few days ago, but we have initiated an enquiry into the leakage and other problems in the pool," said Sinha, adding, "I'm not aware about the pool being handed over to the stadium authorities, but I am sure it will be done only after solving all existing problems."...