Few gyms reopen in Bhopal, operators says guidelines tough

Two days after the Bhopal district administration issued guidelines for reopening of gyms, only a handful of such establishments in the city resumed their operations on Thursday. The owners said that the guidelines for reopening of the gyms were hard to follow. "There are around 220 fitness centres in the state capital.

Two days after the Bhopal district administration issued guidelines for reopening of gyms, only a handful of such establishments in the city resumed their operations on Thursday. The owners said that the guidelines for reopening of the gyms were hard to follow.

"There are around 220 fitness centres in the state capital. Of them, just five to 10 per cent reopened on Thursday as the guidelines are tough and cumbersome," Amarik Singh, working committee member of the Bhopal Gymnasiums Association told PTI. "Today, some fitness centre owners met their area Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to knowthe procedure to restart their establishments," Singh, who owns Pure Fitness Zone Gym on Kolar Road, said.

Joint Collector and Kolar area SDM Rajesh Gupta said that he explained the guidelines to the 30odd gym owners in detail, which need to be followed. The central government had issued the guidelines on August 3, which cannot be tweaked, he said when asked about the gym owners' complaint.

Singh said, "We have to first seek permission from the authorities by giving an undertaking for reopening of the gyms as per the guidelines issued two days ago. We then have to follow a number of measures and submit the photographs and other evidence to the authorities for the steps taken to stem the spread of coronavirus," he said. "There is a huge fine for violating the guidelines," he added.