Fit Enough To Reopen? City Gyms & Yoga Hubs Sweat It Out

Fitness centres eager to restart but pending bills, ensuring social distancing & risk of infection pose massive challenges

- Chayyanika Nigam

Even as gymnasiums and yoga centres in Delhi have begun working on reopening after the Centre included them in Unlock 3, they are facing a tough ‘treadmill test’.

Coming to terms both structurally and functionally with the ‘new normal’, settling outstand- ing dues, getting staffers and clients back are proving to be quite a challenge for the National Capital Region’s 5,500 registered gyms and fitness centers.

Over the 120 day-plus shutdown, the gym and fitness industry in Delhi-NCR has lost anything between ₹800 crore and ₹1,000 crore, say industry bodies. A small-scale gym, for instance, might have incurred a debit of Rs 30 lakhs and a high-end gym must have borne losses of approximately Rs 2 crore since the lockdown began, said a member of the Delhi Gym Association.

WAITING FOR CLARITY

Many gym owners are waiting for SOPs from the Delhi government before they reopen their facilities. Several are yet to settle their pending rent, electricity, water bills and also have to invest towards renovation, repairing of ACs and training equipment.

Though the Centre has permitted gym and fitness centres to resume functioning from August 5, the Delhi government is yet to decide on reopening. However, the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments have notified that gyms in the state will reopen from August 5.