While going for a walk around the house post-dinner is a regular affair for many, but you may not have heard of people going for night walks for a distance as long as 8km. Well, this is exactly what a group of walkers in Noida is doing every week. The Noida Expressway Walkers (NEW), which comprises over 250 people from various high-rise apartments in sectors along the Noida Expressway, have started going for night walks since the past one month. Every Wednesday, around 40 walkers from different societies march out of their societies at 8.15pm. The walk goes on for about 8-10km until about 10pm.Pradeep Panda, the founder of NEW, says, “The major factor why we decided to start night walks was because many of us were unable to come for the morning walks because of work, especially women. By 8pm, almost everyone is back from work. We start by 8.15pm, going around each society in the area and picking up the walkers from there,” says Panda, a resident of Purvanchal Royal Park in Sector 137.He adds, “Earlier the roads were not lit up well and hence, it never came to us that we should go for a night walk as it didn’t feel safe. But since the LED street lights have been put up now, so the roads now seem safer for night walks,” adds Panda, who works at an electronics firm in Greater Noida.Amita Sharma, a resident of Ajnara Daffodil in Sector 137, who works in a manufacturing firm in Noida, says, “I need to reach office by 8.30am every day and have to drop my son to school as well before that. Hence, it was impossible for me to join NEW for morning walks during the day.” She now joins the group every week as she is home from work by 6pm.Rekha Sharma, another member of the group, adds, “We are done with the day’s work and dinner by 8pm, so it’s more convenient to join the walkers at 8.15pm rather than in the morning. Sometimes, we continue to walk and cover a distance as long as 10km,” says Sharma, a resident ofPurvanchal Silver City, Sector 137.Since many residents are unable to take out time for morning walks, they prefer stepping out at night for a walkChanda Mahajan, a resident of Purvanchal Royal Park, Sector 137, who has recently joined the group, says, “I feel unsafe even while driving alone in the night, let alone go for a walk out on the streets. But walking in a group of 40 at night along the internal roads of the Noida Expressway makes us feel safe.”Suresh Arora, who drives from Sector 15 to Sector 137 to join the members of NEW, says, “I feel that one may only cover the maximum of one or two kilometres by walking around their apartments since one tends to get bored. However, walking with a group outside the society along the streets one doesn’t even realise how many kilometres have they covered.” “After joining this group, I feel like my college days are back,” adds the 57-year-old, who works in a government organisation in Delhi.#FitEvenings: The members of Noida Expressway Walkers group regularly step out for night walks from Sector 137 to Sector 93B“My doctor says that I should walk after dinner and there should be at least a gap of about two hours between dinner and sleeping. Before I joined the night walks, I used to hit the bed immediately after dinner. But now, I have the motivation of such a large group to go for a two-hour walk after dinner which has helped me follow my doctor’s advice,” says Arora. He adds that the night walks also help him sleep better.High pollution in the city has not been a hindrance for the walkers as well. “I do not prefer working out inside a gym as I love being outdoors. There is always going to be pollution whether in the morning or at night but that doesn’t mean we lock ourselves up indoors. Going for night walks is a fun activity for us that helps us keep ourselves healthy,” says Mahajan.

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