New Delhi: Thirty squats will get you a free platform ticket at the Anand Vihar railway station in the national capital now as part of the railways’ Fit India initiative.
In a first-of-its-kind scheme, the Indian Railways has installed a squat machine at the Anand Vihar station and 30 squats in front of it will generate a free platform ticket.
As part of the health initiative, the railways has also opened a “Dawa Dost” store at the station, a generic medicine store for passengers.
“Dawa Dost aims to make it easier for Indians to take care of their health and help them make substantial savings on their health bills by providing high-quality, affordable medicines. Dawa Dost supports the Indian government’s stance on the use of generic medicines. The firm currently has 10 stores in Rajasthan and Delhi and plans to increase to 100 stores in a year and to 1,000 in the next four years,” a statement issued by the railways said.
Other health-related amenities include a pulse health machine kiosk, which measures various health and wellness parameters (body composition analysis, blood pressure etc.) and gives indications of potential lifestyle diseases with personalised recommendations.
The railways has also installed a Robocura massage chair, the most advanced body massage chair that has 3D massage rollers, along with a longer massage track line giving maximum massage coverage, the statement said.
To promote healthy eating, the railways has also created a “Eat Right Station Certification”, the main objective of which is to help passengers make healthy food choices.
“It aims to engage, excite and enable people towards their health and well-being. A ‘Eat Right Station’ audit was conducted at the Anand Vihar terminal in January and the station achieved the highest score of 92 per cent with a five-star rating. The station is the first ‘Eat Right Station’ under the Northern Railway,” the statement said.
A 25 second video of a man doing squats to avail a free entry in the railway station went viral on Friday within minutes of being shared by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. As the man completes his pushups, the machine sensors count the number of squats and dispense the ticket.
Netizens have appreciated the move and several Twitter users lauded the Railway Ministry’s efforts to make passengers healthier by incentivising fitness through free tickets.
A user wrote: “Wow this is really great. Great Innovation to motivate for fitness… Great respect for @PiyushGoyal one of the best Minister.”
Another said: “Very good effort…Please install such machine all over the country….”
“Wonderful initiative. Till we saw such experimental machines only in western countries but now india also has joined them for this good work which will create awareness for fitness. Folded hands. Thank-you sir,” another wrote. (Agencies)
