Gurgaon has got a new lung in February. For years now, the Aravalli Biodiversity Park has been known as the green lung of Gurgaon, as it gives the city much of its green cover. Now, the Park has some assistance from the newly-opened City Forest. Situated right in the heart of the Millennium City, the City Forest is a joint initiative between the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and city-based NGO I Am Gurgaon, and is already proving to be popular among Gurugrammers thanks to its green cover and relatively clean air. What makes the ‘forest’ more attractive is a 5.2km-long running and walking track that starts near Galleria Market and traverses through DLF-Phase 1 and Sectors 27, 42, 52 and 53, before ending near Golf Course Road in Sector 56. For Gurgaon’s runners, cyclists, and morning walkers – who have long bemoaned the absence of a safe and green space – this running trail has come, quite literally, as a breath of fresh air Over the years, runners and athletes training for long-distance runs in Gurgaon have complained about a lack of proper areas where they can run. The existing tracks have been substandard and the roads are risky because of the fast-moving traffic. Abhishek Mishra , a city-based triathlete, says, “For long, the problem with Gurgaon has been that there are no safe spaces for the fitness freaks to run. We have had to run on Golf Course Road or Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, both of which have heavy traffic. This track is much better that way. It is only for runners and walkers. We don’t have to worry about being run over by traffic.” On any given day, one can spot a number of cyclists and runners on the track. Akash Singh, a DLF Phase 2 resident who cycles on the track twice a week in the morning, tell us, “You cycle because you want some positive energy from the activity, some peace of mind. But if you are thinking about dodging traffic, particularly trucks on Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, you can’t do that. That’s why I love this track. Of course, it is not fit for more long-distance , but for casual cyclists, four-five laps of the track in the morning are a good exercise.”The track at the newly-opened City Forest is already a hit with cyclistsFor many residents of the sectors along Golf Course Road, the only option of running in green surroundings involved a car drive to the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, which is 4-8km away depending on where one stays. For these people, the new trail has been a Godsend as it is barely a stone’s throw away from their houses. Alka Srivastava, a homemaker from Sector 52 says, “I like running in green surroundings but going to Aravalli Biodiversity Park meant I had to drive some 6-7km just to start running and that defeats the purpose of morning exercise. This track pretty much starts from my doorstep and I can go on my morning run in a green, quiet, safe space.”The newly-opened City Forest is a hit with the runners tooMany avid runners, who had given up their morning runs or shortened their distances, now say that they have picked up the habit again. Deepika Yadav, a Golf Course Road resident, says, “I had limited my morning runs to alternate days and that too only within the park in my society because I was scared to run on the main roads. But I tried running in this new forest trail last week and found it very peaceful. The track is also good, very easy on the knees, unlike some of the other concrete tracks in the city. So now, I run every morning before going to work.” Mohammad Zeeshan, who lives in Sector 43, adds, “I had an injury from walking on a gravel-strewn track a year ago, after which I was sceptical about going for morning walks on the roads or these existing tracks. But I was coaxed by my friends to try out this new City Forest. It is a wonderful place because of the ambience here. It feels like you are in Corbett or someplace like that.”Some residents have started using the trail for their regular commute as well. GP Singh, a Sector 56 resident, says, “I usually walk through the forest trail to get to my colleague’s place a kilometre away, who then drives me to work. Earlier, I used to either drive down to his place or walk through the main road, but this is a much better option. It’s the only time you get to be in nature’s lap while going about your daily routine.”The authorities are mulling an extension of the trail as the second phase of the city forest will come up in the foothills of the Aravallis for the benefit of the societies close to the hills and beyond Golf Course Extension Road. “It has really opened a new avenue for a lot of people in Gurgaon, who had nowhere to turn to for simple acts like taking a walk,” says Latika Thukral, founder, I Am Gurgaon, “We hope the authorities can somehow connect this trail and the forest to the Golf Course Road as well, so that it can be accessible to a lot of people living on the other side of the road.”

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