In a big step to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Maharashtra government ordered the closure of cinema halls, gyms and swimming pools in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and Nagpur cities from Friday (March 13) midnight till March 31, 2020.
Making the announcement in the state Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the government was invoking the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. As of now, nine people tested positive to coronavirus in Mumbai and the metropolitan region. The number of positive cases in Maharashtra rose to 33 on Sunday. But looks like Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor remained unaffected by this. The actor was snapped at a Bandra gym on Sunday for an exclusive workout session at the gym's VIP section. The actor was spotted at a Bandra gym, AntiGravity Club, on Sunday evening. The reports in a leading daily suggested that he was accompanied by his wife Mira Rajput. In a viral picture, Shahid was seen doing an intensive workout. The reports further mentioned that the gym was shut all day but opened for the couple at around 5.30 PM and on spotting paparazzi around, the couple chose to leave the gym from a different exit door.
Now, the BMC on Monday sealed AntiGravity Club, the Bandra gym where actor and his wife were spotted working out on Sunday despite the state government’s directive to shut all gymnasiums across the state. Shahid and gym owner Yudhishthir Jaising also received a rap on the knuckles from the civic body for ‘irresponsible behaviour’.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner of H-West ward, Vinayak Vispute, said the BMC has written to Shahid and Jaising, reprimanding them both for violating a health advisory issued by the state government and posing a risk to public safety. Vispute said, “It was wrong on the part of the gym to remain open, even for one patron. If gymnasiums don’t follow state directives, they will be booked under relevant sections and licenses will be revoked.”
AntiGravity club owner Yudhishthir, however, denied BMC's claim and asserted that Shahid was a 'close friend' who had come to get some equipment and he was only showing him the right way to use it. He also clarified that the club has not broken any rule and has been shut since Friday. Further Yudhishthir said that they often work out at each other's houses and it was 'just friends chilling on a Sunday evening'.
He had said that the actor has been shooting in Chandigarh and had asked him to get some equipment after he sustained an injury (tendonitis). He said he was showing him the right way to use the equipment and that they work out at each other’s houses if needed. There has been no response from Shahid or his team yet.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)