Sankey Tank in 2015 became the first public place in Bangalore with an open air gym. Post that, almost every other park or lake with an adjoining park had gym equipment installed by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). These gyms were instant hits to many but notably the house wives and also the elderly.
However, most of these outdoor gyms have been damaged over the years and rendered non-functional due to lack regular maintenance by authorities and absence of awareness among park users on how to use the equipment.
Speaking to The Hindu, Somanna M., a resident of Varadharaja Nagar near M.S. Palya, says that most gym equipment in the parks in the are damaged and have remained so for long.
Long-term damage
“A few parks in our area have gym equipment, but after installation, they were used hardly for a few months. The outdoor gyms have been damaged for a long time and are not repaired or maintained by the BBMP at all,” he complains.
“Regular maintenance is important as far as it is concerned if we want it to last longer because it will keep breaking down unless we undertake this activity frequently. This requires constant oiling among other things like repairs when necessary. In addition, harsh weather conditions are being experienced once again in Bengaluru city. Just putting up a sheet roof can help save it from being harmed by bad weather,” adds Somanna.
The Varadharaja Nagar resident said that there is also a need for the residents to be educated on how to use the equipment, as a large part of the damage is inflicted by the users themselves.
Necessity of educating
Accordingly some people use their local fitness machines efficiently while others do not follow suit.
“It won’t be easy for us as we cannot train everyone how they should use them hence it seems impossible since there are many jobs at hand. Nevertheless, the ward coordinators or the resident welfare association heads are taught on this and at least they will also pass the information to other people”, he explains.
For the equipment repair and usage guidelines, people can access BBMP through Sahaya app or WhatsApp groups created for every ward, said Chandrashekhar.
Concentrated in South Bengaluru
In November 2023, BBMP issued several tenders for repairing children’s play and gym equipments in public parks at a budget of ₹3.6 Crore.
This would include expenses of ₹50 lakhs for parks in Basavanagudi assembly constituency, Padmanabhanagar-₹88lakhs, BTM Layout-₹85 lakh, Jayanagar-₹70 lakh , Vijayanagar-₹44lakh and Chickpet – ₹31 lakhs in South zone alone leaving out many others across the city.
The work order was issued in March of this year. While most of the work is expected to be completed by December this year, Chandrashekhar did not rule out chances of extension. And admitted that there are no plans in place currently regarding repair work of park equipment in other areas.
Walking preferred
Whereas majority of Bangaloreans may be interested in repairing any fitness equipment at parks located within South Bengaluru area. It seems that residents from other parts may have relatively little interest towards using them. Many feel this could be one of the reasons for the authorities’ inaction.
Take Krishna Rao, a resident of Koramangala who is 61 years old for instance. He prefers walking in the park rather than using the equipment.
“I tried using the gym equipment initially, but most people my age do not know how to use it. After some days I started feeling pain on my upper body. I thought if that continues I would injure myself so I stopped immediately. For me, I prefer doing brisk walks than using such equipments” he said
For example, Usha Rani who is another old woman staying at Vidyaranyapura stated that instead of doing gymnastic exercises on these machines with her friends they prefer to just walk or practice yoga asanas that are very simple hence they don’t strain too much and also keep them fit.”
Excitement down south
Residents from South Bengaluru however state that outdoor gym equipments found in different parks have been very helpful to them and help to maintain their fitness.
Faizunissa, a homemaker living in Jayanagar T Block explains, “Every day early morning after completing my house chores; I go for a brisk walk along with using gym equipments available at the park. Although it took time for me to comprehend how exactly these things work when finally one day my exercising son taught me how then all went well since and each day now am found using it. This has made me much more fit in the last 2 years.”
On the other side Bhadrinath S., a young fitness enthusiast from J.P Nagar says that, “I would say that park equipment is pretty good and can be utilized regularly. I have visited various indoor expensive gyms earlier on. Outdoor gyms are not as good but they are alright to keep us healthy. These gyms can be used by anyone regardless of their age and physical condition. People just need to take a little time; discover what is beneficial for their body and then use these things.”
