No relaxation yet for gyms, owners worry about losses

Several owners feel it is discriminatory that bars, restaurants and cinema halls are allowed to operate at 50% capacity but fitness establishments are still not allowed to reopen

The new order by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has no mention of reopening of gyms and fitness centres in the Capital, despite plenty of appeals and symbolic demonstrations. Several owners feel it is discriminatory that bars, restaurants and cinema halls are allowed to operate at 50% capacity but fitness establishments are still not allowed to function. They also staged another symbolic protest near Trauma Center, Civil Lines, on Saturday to demand for the reopening.

Gym owners also staged another symbolic protest near Trauma Center, Civil Lines, on Saturday to demand for the reopening

“Government is not thinking about the five lakh families who depend on the fitness industry in Delhi. Everything else is open except gyms in the city. No study across the world has shown any Covid-19 transmission from gyms. We are always the first to close and the last to open. We condemn this decision by the DDMA to let everything function in Delhi, except gyms,” says Bhupender Sharma, president, Delhi Gym Association, who was at the protest.

Some are struggling to clear outstanding payments and get rent waived off. Omesh Chandna, owner, Anytime Fitness, South Ex, says, “We have almost ₹20-25 lakhs outstanding which includes rentals, taxation and staff salary plus their incentives. And we don’t know when our situation will improve. It is suicidal for our business. The landlords are preferring other businesses over giving the place for rent to fitness centres.”

Harnek Ghabri, owner, DNA Fitness, Janakpuri feels that this is an added stress in the times of pandemic. He says, “For some, it is tough to pay rent which can go up to two lakhs a month. So ever since 2020, the business is affected as gyms have been getting shut for longer duration. This is a mental torture as gyms are targeted everytime. More physical contact happens at salons, which didn’t even shut this time.”

So, do online classes help in generating revenue? “It’s difficult to motivate clients to take the virtual mode; and then they ask to pause the membership and say that they will resume once the gyms are open. So our source of income gets impacted but we still have to pay the instructors as they’re full-time employed,” says Harpreet Singh, owner, Steppers Do The Step, Rajinder Nagar.

Fitness enthusiasts also have concerns. Anam Qureshi, a south-Delhi resident, says, “If restaurants and bars can work with 50% capacity, then why not gyms? Is looking after one’s health not an essential service? How come bars fall under the essential category? Clearly, there is no rationale behind restraining gyms from operating. There is no science or logic behind this decision of the government, nor it has been proved yet.”