It was an early morning in the month of May when Ajay Abbi, a resident of Sector 137, saw a group of around 40 people exercising and stretching in a park. Sitting on a green bench, Abbi was approached by a member from the group to click a picture of them. That’s how he became acquainted with the group, which has now become a part of his daily life. Noida Expressway Walkers (NEW) is a walking club in Noida with over 200 members from 15 residential societies spread across six sectors around the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. “That one click changed my mornings. I have become an active member of NEW now. Earlier, I used to go for morning walks and do yoga in a nearby park all alone. But now, it has become a regular affair for us as a group to walk outside our societies and sectors,” says Abbi, who is the Chief Operating Officer at an agro-products company in Greater Noida The group was founded by Pradeep Pandey, fondly known as Pandaji, among the group members. Pandey is a resident of Sector 137 and started the group in April this year. “What started as an activity among a group of eight to nine friends from my residential society, has now transformed into a club with over 200 members. Walking in a large group such as this makes it a fun and motivating activity. People don’t even get to know how much time has passed or how much distance they have walked. Walking and joking, we maintain our health as well as develop new friendships,” says Pradeep, who works at an electronics firm in Greater Noida.Pradeep says that each time the group goes out for a walk, passersby are encouraged to join in as well. The club has expanded by word of mouth and remains connected through a WhatsApp group. For many, a morning walk would comprise taking a few rounds of a nearby park. But for members of NEW, the morning walks transcend the boundaries of their high-rise apartments and sectors as they take routes along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway covering Sectors 137 to Sector 93. “We start from Sector 137 and walkers from different residential societies along the expressway keep joining us. By the time we reach Sector 93, we have about 200 members with us. We cover around 10km , after which we have a yoga session at the park,” says Gunjan Pahuja, a resident of Sector 137.HIT THE ROADGunjan says that since most of the people living in the high-rises around the expressway are working professionals, early morning walks tend to be sidelined in the daily hustle-bustle of life. “Currently, most of the members come only on weekends, and not on weekdays. But Pandaji keeps pursuing us to come every day. Sometimes, he even gives us wake up calls in the morning, so that we don’t miss the walking sessions,” adds Gunjan.Every month, the members are given targets to complete and those who are successful in meeting the targets are felicitated by the group. “In the month of September, a 100km target was set for the walkers. At the end of the month, we were surprised that one of the members had covered 305 km. These targets keep us motivated to go on daily morning walks,” says Pradeep.RISE AND SHINE: The members of Noida Expressway Walkers make the most of their morningsThe members, who earlier used to go for morning walks alone, say that joining the group has made them a regular walker and also helped them network and mingle with like-minded people who are as health conscious as them. “I used to prefer walking alone but after joining the group, I realized that it is more fun to walk in a group than alone. It is a great opportunity for us to bond with people from across the city also,” says Richa Chopra, who works in the travel industry and is a resident of Sector 93B.The group also hosts destination walks every month. The members carpool and go to a specified destination where they conduct their walking and yoga session. The walk soon turns into a picnic of sorts as the members eat together. “Since June this year, we started having destination walks. We have been to Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Jahapana City Forest in Green Park, India Gate, Lodhi Gardens and Nehru Park. Such walks expose us to different kinds of parks across NCR. Since they are not very far away, it makes for a fun activity,” says Pandey.The destination walks give the members an opportunity to experience places which they wouldn’t have gone to otherwise. “Leading a busy life, we would never get time otherwise to visit an iconic park in Delhi if it wasn’t for our group’s initiative. Mostly, we go there either for shopping or to meet our relatives but visiting a park early in the morning for a nice walk is definitely a new experience,” says Subodh, a resident of Sector 137.The group is also planning to organize a walkathon for Noida soon. “We want more people to join us and not just those who live near the expressway. Hence, we are planning to organize a walkathon soon for Noida where everyone will be invited and we will be expanding our route to other sectors as well,” says Pradeep.Walk the talk with Noidawallahs!

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