GHMC's open gym project goes for a toss

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s concept of open gyms in public parks has gone for a toss. The corporation had planned to install as many as 40 gyms in the various city parks. However, three months have passed and not even a single gym equipment seems to have been installed. Officials claim that the project will be not viable in a city like Hyderabad which has the most undisciplined citizens.  Even though gym equipments were installed in six parks, they were either stolen or had to be repaired within a month.

Taking a cue from New Delhi, the GHMC had set up last year, six open gyms in the city parks at an estimated cost of '65 lakh. The concept caught up with the citizens and given the response, the corporation decided to set up 40 more open gyms in other parks too. According to a GHMC official, the corporation had installed open gyms at AS Rao Nagar Park, Imlibun Park, Krishan Kant Park, Indira Park, Gulmohar Park (Serilingampally), KBR Park and Nehru Nagar Park (West Marredpally) on a pilot basis.

The gym equipment however, has been either stolen or damaged. On investigation, it came to their notice that the equipments in the open gyms got damaged due misuse by the people who came to the park. It has been also cited that the quality of the equipment were not up to the mark. Sources said that a private agency which had been supplying the equipment was only a broker for a Delhi-based company. If the equipment is damaged the team from Delhi had to visit the park and either repair or replace the equipment.

When queried on the subject, a senior GHMC official said that thieves had used hacksaw blades to cut the equipment at the gyms to steal the components. He said that in a few other cases, some equipment got damaged as more than the permitted number of users tried to handle them. He said that the lack on monitoring of the open gyms was also another reason for the damage. 

He said that it has become herculean task to monitor the gym equipments, since these parks were spread over a vast area and monitoring the gyms throughout the day had become a challenge. The GHMC official further said that the open gym concept might have been a success in the Delhi but it was not viable in a city like Hyderabad, which required supervision 24/7.  "If the open gym equipment has to be frequently replaced or repaired, the cost would become a big burden to the civic body and there are also chances of the complete equipment being stolen during the process of replacement," he concluded.