In an innovative measure to encourage fitness of people, Indian Railways have installed a squat machine on the platform. The machine dispenses free railways tickets if one does squats in front of it.
Railway minister shared a video of the machine on Twitter where one person was seen doing squat ups in front of the machine.
https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal/status/1230743572816617472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to reports, if a person does 30 squat ups in 180 seconds in front of the machine, it will dispense a platform ticket worth Rs 10. The machine, named Fit India Squat Machine, has been installed at the entrance of the Anand Vihar Railway station. A person needs to stand on a spot marked with footprints in front of the machine and do the squats. After completion of 30 squats, the machine will dispense a platform ticket for the Railway station.
The machine is inspired by similar machines installed in Moscow. Ahead of winter Olympics in Sochi in 2013, such machines were installed at Vystavochaya station of Moscow subway system. The machines dispensed free tickets for metro rides if 30 squats are done in front of them in 2 minutes.
Squat is a strength exercise which makes the lower body muscles stronger and develops core strength. It is an important and simple exercise in improving fitness and strength of the body. The machine goes well with the Fit India Movement started by PM Narendra Modi. On the National Sports Day on 29th August in 2019, the PM had launched the Fit India Movement. The Prime Minister had said that the movement should become a national goal and its aspiration. “Success is related to fitness, success stories of all of our icons from any field of life have a common thread- most of them are fit, have a focus on fitness and are fond of fitness”, the PM had said.