More walking tracks sought in Vijayawada

A group of children and their trainer seen jogging on the MG Road in Vijayawada in the early morning of Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI

The protest demonstration by members of the Andhra Loyola College Walkers’ Club, one of the largest walkers’ clubs in the country, last week demanding the reopening of the college grounds, which were closed during the pandemic, threw light on the lack of enough open spaces and walking tracks in the city.

Former president of the club, R. Krishna Rao, said they had been using the grounds for the last 25 years until it was locked down following the COVID-induced restrictions.

“There used to be 2,000 members in the club, most of whom now go to other open spaces in the city or walk on the roads in the early hours when the traffic is lean,” he said.

Mr. Krishna Rao said that since there was no ground in their area, the club spent ₹6 lakh to develop a walking track on the college premises.

Apart from college and school grounds, there are four major playgrounds in the city – Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium (IGMC) on the MG Road, Makineni Basavapunnaiah Stadium (Ajith Singh Nagar), Vidyadharapuram grounds, and Gymkhana Grounds (Gandhi Nagar). However, only the IGMC ground is located in the centre of the city.

Moreover, there are 71 major parks in the city, as per information from the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. Some of them have walking tracks too and open early for walkers.

However, it is common to see morning walkers on MG Road or BRTS Road. Many say the college and school grounds close by 7:30 a.m., and the parks are too small for walking, forcing them to look for other options.

To many, the only option is the IGMC stadium. Mr. Ganapathi Rao from Labbipeta, who stopped by to have a cup of ragi malt being sold on the roadside near the IGMC stadium, said he usually prefers working out in the gym to walking outdoors as there is not much open space in the city. “But, in case I decide to walk, I go to the road next to the All India Radio office,” he says.

He says the IGMC stadium gets too dusty with all the children and sportspersons practising.

“You will find the IGMC stadium closed to walkers every other day because all the government programmes or celebrations are organised here. Besides, it gets slushy during the monsoon. We also need to be cautious all the time about getting struck by a cricket or a football,” said Ms. Vishnu Priya from Sunnambatti Centre.

“There are walking tracks near the river bund too, but we do not feel it safe going there and besides, more than 30 minutes get wasted on commuting,” said Ms. Neeraja, a neighbour of Ms. Vishnu Priya, adding that they need more open spaces in the city as walking on grounds is better for the knees than walking on a cement road.

Estate Officer, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, T. Sreenivas, said no new grounds are coming up, but the Corporation can try to develop more walking tracks in the existing parks.