Residents demand PMC to open more gym facilities during winter

With more people turning towards exercise during the winter season, there has been an increase in demand for more gymnasium facilities. For two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) closed all gymnasium facilities which resumed after March 2022. As of now, there are 34 gymnasiums run by the PMC

Santosh Varule, deputy commissioner sports, PMC, said, “Out of the 34 PMC-run gyms in Pune, 30 are in working condition. In two to three months, other gyms too will start functioning. Initially, many gyms were closed till July 2022 however we have carried out repair work and opened them for the public.”

“In future, the PMC has planned to open sports complexes, and there will be a gym section within these complexes. We don’t have any plans of opening separate gyms as of now,” Varule said.

While the PMC gives contractors gym facilities to operate via tender processing, the old contracts are still to be renewed by the civic body at three to four places. Whereas according to the people training at these gyms, they lack upgraded facilities.

“The PMC should open more gym facilities. Thirty-four is a very small number, and all 34 gyms are not functioning. The gyms which are functioning do not have upgraded facilities. The PMC should keep a check on contractors operating the gyms,” said Vikas Patil, who used to train at a PMC-run gym near Taljai hills.

A senior officer from the PMC sports department on condition of anonymity said, “All gym facilities that are functional have been upgraded after the Covid-induced break (March 2022). Our officers are keeping track on all the facilities. Once in a week, they visit the facilities to check whether all the equipment is functioning properly.”

Box

PMC-run gyms: 34

Functional: 30

Non-functional: 4