50 more open gyms in Chandigarh, residents say not required

Sandeep Rana

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Chandigarh, August 28

The local Municipal Corporation is going to set up 50 more open air gyms, but residents are not impressed with the move. They say rather than increasing the number of gyms, the MC should focus on the quality of equipment, as machines in most of the parks have developed faults.

What residents say

• Focus on maintenance of equipment at existing gyms
• Gyms in most of the parks not being used at all
• Faulty equipment not being repaired
• Cause damage to green spaces in parks

There are 250 open air gyms in various parks the city. “The quality of equipment at these open air gyms is not good. One or two years after installation, machines start to develop faults. Nobody bothers about repairing the faulty equipment. Besides, gyms in most places are not being used at all.

“There are gyms at two parks in Sector 36-C situated at a distance of 500 steps. Neither is being used by local residents. The same is true for many other places,” said a city-based activist, LR Budaniya. Rajinder Garg, president of the Sector 46-A Residents’ Welfare Association, said, “Open air gyms in our sector are in a poor shape. Most of the machines do not work.” Vikram Aditya, who leads a group of Sector 36 residents, called it a scam. “It is a scam. In our sector, half of the gyms are lying unused. The corporation should first assess as to whether the city needs more gyms. The open gyms are an environmental nuisance as these cause a damage to green spaces. It is simply a criminal waste of money.”

Kuldeep Singh Gill, president, Bright RWA, Sector 21-B, said, “Only 5 per cent people use open air gyms. In Sector 21-B, people go to proper gyms. Only a few youngsters visit open air gyms to have a chitchat.

Thus, it is a waste of public money. The civic body should build a public toilet or open urinals in our park instead.”

At a recent MC House meeting, MC Chief Engineer NP Sharma said, “Fifty more open air gyms will be set up in the city. When we set up the first open air gym at Shanti Kunj, it cost us about Rs 12 lakh. Now, the same equipment costs only about Rs 3 lakh.”