CHANDIGARH: There is good news for fitness enthusiasts of the city as they will now be able to work out in green surroundings.The Chandigarh administration is all set to install open air gymnasium in forest area behind Sukhna Lake. The gym will be installed at Smriti Van at cost of Rs 2 crore of which 80% funds will be provided by the Union government under the Nagar Van Udhyan Scheme and the rest of the cost will be borne by the Ut administration. The facility will be open to the residents free of cost. For execution of the project, the administration has so far received Rs 1crore from the Central government and has floated a tender to hire a firm for installing the equipment. The authorities intend to install non-electrical fitness machines, including pendulum trainer, elliptical machine, air walker, sit up board, parallel bars, sit pedal trainer, body rider, shoulder exerciser and stepper in different parts of the Smriti Van, which has been recently developed by the forest department as a park. The authorities also plan to deploy physical trainers for assisting people in using the equipment. Giving details, chief conservator of forests Santosh Kumar said they had developed a park at Smriti Van with funds provided the Nagar Van Udhyan Scheme. "Around 100 acres behind Sukhna Lake have been developed into an ecofriendly destination wherein people of Chandigarh can walk and enjoy the nature," Kumar said, adding that they had decided to install a gym in Smriti Van with an aim to attract more people. The forest department has also created a large water body with an island and a hut where residents can enjoy the scenic beauty. The Chandigarh municipal corporation and Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) are also installing open gyms in different parts of the city. In last one year, the civic body has set up open air gyms at around 6 locations by installing 10 non electrical fitness machines at each location at the cost of around Rs 60 lakh. The CHB is also in the process of installing gyms in housing societies. The board plans to cover all societies in a phased manner. The housing board has developed schemes in different sectors like 29, 41, 40, 44, 43, 45, 47, Sector 38 (West) and Modern Housing Complex having around 64,000 dwelling units. The board has also developed rehabilitation housing schemes.

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