Residents in Dwarka are not just healthier but happier now. Open-air gyms have won their hearts and they’re craving for more.
RK Jain, a resident of Mass Apartments, Sector 10, said, “I have been using the open-air gym in our neighbourhood park for the past one year. I am in my sixties and feel inspired to work on myself. It’s amazing to see how people who never went to a gym are coming here to exercise. The rowing equipment is a favourite. The authorities should instal one more here.”
Even the RWAs and various resident bodies, such as Dwarka Forum, Dwarka Lok Kalyan Manch, Association of Neighbourhood Ladies Get-Together (ANHLGT) and Sukh Dukh Ke Sathi, have started advocating the need for more such gyms in Dwarka.
Promila Malik, cultural secretary of Jagran Apartments, Sector 22, and joint secretary of ANHLGT, said, “About a month back, an open-air gym was opened at our neighbourhood park behind Jagran Apartments and Bank Vihar Apartments. You can now see the change in the way the park is being used. People from other societies near it have started coming. With such facilities at a walking distance from their societies, women and elderly citizens have become more conscious of their health. I feel there should be one such facility in every sector.”
Laxmi Narayan, executive engineer, DDA, who is taking care of the open-gym project, said, “We have opened these gyms at ten locations in Dwarka. They have become so popular that people want more of these. The numbers can be increased in future.”
Municipal Corporation of Delhi has also started providing open-air gyms in its parks. Shashi Tomar, councillor of Ward 135, said, “We already have an open-gym in Mahila Park, Kakrola. Another such gym has been opened in the Sector 6 park near the central market in Dwarka. As for my ward, I have sent the proposal for such gyms in Kargil Apartments, Sector 18, and for the Sector 14 DDA pocket. For Sector 14, we are looking for a suitable place.”
