Eight months on, BMC’s Shiv Yoga Kendras have few takers in several areas

There are 133 Shiv Yoga Kendras which run 167 batches daily. But South Mumbai and other posh and affluent areas of the city are recording the lowest responses. For instance, D ward—which comprises Tardeo, Malabar Hill and Grant Road—had only 30 registrations in June. Owing to the low footfall, the BMC had to close down five of its yoga centres in the ward. It is now the only ward without a single active Shiv Yoga Kendra.

“To run a session, we need to have at least 40 people as the civic body has to pay Rs 4,000 to the instructor. Last June, we got only 30 people for a session, which dropped to 5-10 in the following month. So we had to close it down,” said an officer from the ward.

The situation is not different in areas such as Fort, Nariman Point, Mumbadevi—which fall under wards A and C—with an officer attributing the low demand for yoga sessions to the fact that the areas mostly have offices.

As expected, the response is higher in the suburbs, especially in Borivali, Malad and Kandivali. For instance, the centre in P-North, which covers Malad, conducts 16 sessions a day with 443 registered participants—the highest among the 24 wards.

“The response is higher in suburbs, where the elderly population attend yoga sessions on a regular basis. In fact, we had expected a similar response from our past experiences. We always witness the highest demand for the civic body’s swimming pools in these areas,” said another officer.

However, areas such as M-East, which includes the ward that ranks lowest in the human index development, have also witnessed a lukewarm response despite having one of the biggest slums in the city.

The residents cite a lack of awareness. “The BMC needs to put up posters to inform the residents about the timing and where to go. If they are not being informed, how will they attend yoga sessions?” said Mohammed Sareikh, a resident of the ward.