Hubballi: All parks and gardens could soon be equipped with open gym facilities as per a proposal of the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation ( HDMC ).The initiative of Hubballi-Dharwad West MLA Aravind Bellad to start an open gym at Morarji Nagar Park on a trial basis received overwhelming public response.Now, all corporators want to have open gym facility in their respective wards. Considering the demand, HDMC officials sent a proposal seeking approval of the general body to call for a tender to set up open gyms in parks. It’s estimated that Rs 5 lakh will be earmarked for the project in each ward.Mayor Sudhir Saraf said the concept was introduced at Gokul Road in corporator Ramanna Badiger's ward with funds from MLA Aravind Bellad. In the last general body meeting, many corporators demanded that the facility be created in parks in their wards by allotting funds for it.“The issue will be discussed and a decision will be taken in the next general body meeting,” Saraf added.Opposition leader Ganesh Tagargunti said open gyms for Hubballi-Dharwad are useful. Closed-door gyms require electricity, regular maintenance and other facilities while open gyms don’t have these constraints and they can be used by everyone. In many parks, there’s no facility for physical exercise for middle-aged persons and senior citizens. Youths who can afford commercial gyms go there but others cannot. For such people, an open gym will be helpful, he added.

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