City women find Joggers Park perfect place to stay fit

For women of posh localities in Srinagar, the Joggers Park is a perfect place where they can be seen doing exercises and brisk walking to stay fit every morning.

Located in the elite locality of Rajbagh, the Joggers Park was inaugurated by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah with the aim of providing recreational facilities to citizens.

“This park has provided us a space for walking either in the evening or morning. It helps us to stay fit as we are lazy and eat so much and it doesn’t take much time to gain weight. So walking has become important for us to stay fit,” said Madiha Kousarr, a homemaker who lives in the Rajbagh area.

In the Valley, a large number of people are suffering from obesity, hypertension and diabetes. According to experts, Jammu and Kashmir is among the top five obese states in India. But now more and more people are becoming health conscious where they prefer doing physical activities even before being advised by a doctor.

“People here eat a lot of rice, the traditional food — particularly spices and non-veg like “wazwan”. These foods are heavy and one takes time to digest them. Due to the food habits and a sedentary lifestyle in Kashmir, diseases like diabetes and obesity are common here. People also take products rich in oil and they hardly prefer physical activities like a walk or exercises,” said a Srinagar-based physician.

Diseases like obesity and diabetes are common among women, so they are advised to change their lifestyle by doctors and do more physical activities like exercises to remain healthy.

“I would not go for a walk as there was no space available to do so. Now due to the Joggers Park it has become easy for a number of women to come here every morning and evening and it feels fresh and healthy,” said Shaista, a government employee.

The park, which is also known by the name of Zanana Park (women’s park) is mostly thronged by women and children in the city. The spot has become a hit with women due to its jogging tracks. This is the first multi-facility joggers’ park in the Valley, with facilities like a lawn tennis court, a basketball court and a swimming pool.

The park, which is just 2 km away from the heart of the city (Lal Chowk), is also thronged by sports lovers from other localities of the summer capital.

“Such parks must be developed in other localities as well. Earlier they would hesitate to go jogging on busy roads of the city which have turned dangerous due to roads overcrowded with vehicles,” said Sameena, a banker who comes for an evening walk with her children everyday.

According to studies, the sedentary lifestyle of people is causing many health problems like hypertension and diabetes but if steps like a brisk walk daily is taken, doctors say, diseases will vanish automatically.

“Given health problems local residents are suffering, one must do brisk walking or some other physical exercise for at least an hour every day,” said Dr Adil Amad.