Jorhat, Dec. 2: The city that has given Assam some of the state?s best swimmers has been forced to beg for a swimming pool.

The Jorhat Swimming Society and the people of the Upper Assam town have appealed to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) to help complete an Olympic-standard swimming pool here.

The 50mx25m swimming pool, if it does materialise, will be the second of its kind in the state. The other one is in Guwahati.

Construction of the half-finished pool has virtually come to a standstill due to funds constraint.

?While various organisations have come forward with assurances for funds, a major part is yet to be realised,? an office bearer of the Jorhat Swimming Society said.

The society is now resting its hopes on the ONGC to bankroll the remaining work so that construction of the pool may be restarted.

Other oil companies, such as Oil India Limited and Numaligarh Refinery Limited, have forked out only meagre contributions with the excuse that Jorhat does not fall within their operational areas.

?We are now completely relying on the ONGC. Since ONGC has its major operations in Jorhat and the adjoining areas, the oil giant, we hope, will come forward with a handsome contribution from its socio-economic development fund,? the swimming society official said.

The society is hopeful that the ONGC could be persuaded to foot a large part of the construction bill as many ONGC employees were associated with swimming and other water sport.

The Jorhat deputy commissioner as well as the Union minister of state for defence Bijoy Krishna Handique had earlier approached the ONGC, but the response at that time had been ambivalent.

It was way back in 1987, that a group of enthusiastic youths came together to fulfil the long-felt need of a forum to scour this part of the country for swimming prot?g?s.

Since its inception the society has fulfilled its objective. There has not been an Assam swimming team after 1988 that has not included at least one member of the Jorhat Swimming Society.

The feather in the society?s cap, however, came when one of its members set a national record and bagged gold medals in an Asia-Pacific meet.