Odishatv Bureau
New Delhi: Visiting the India Gate from this month-end will be more fun as one can enjoy aqua zorbing -- floating on water in a transparent plastic ball.

Delhi Tourism, which collaborated with a private operator to kickstart aqua zorbing at the lake at Purana Quila last September, is all set to launch the adventure sport at India Gate.

"Currently we are offering only boating activities at India Gate, so zorbing will be a remarkable addition to the water sports activities.

"Moreover, being in the heart of the city, India Gate attracts more visitors. Since it will be visible from the road side, more people will be able to enjoy the fun," Manish Chatrath, chairman of Delhi Tourism, told PTI.

Zorbing at Purana Quila attracts more than 50 visitors on weekdays and the number touches 100 on weekends.

"We have been getting good response for zorbing at Purana Quila lake so we are in a spree of expanding our operators at India Gate as well. We have got a green signal from Delhi Tourism. We will open it for tourists probably by late June," zorbing operator Rajeeb Gogoi said.

In zorbing, one is made to enter into a deflated plastic ball through a zipper and then it is filled with air. Once the ball is inflated, it is zipped up, and the ball enclosing the person is pushed in the water. .

A rope is attached to the ball, which a trained staff holds on to, for pulling it back to the shore when the time is up.

Apart from being an adventure sport, zorbing is a good activity for the fitness freaks as well. "As one attempts to rotate the ball, he or she exerts pressure and tries to maintain balance.

"It involves the similar physical activities required for games like badminton or lawn tennis. If you do zorbing for 15 minutes, it is equivalent to jogging for half an hour," Gogoi said.

"It looks easy during demonstration but once you jump into it then you realise the rush of adrenaline you feel. Crawling, running, walking, bouncing and falling again...It is a huge fun," said Piyali Chatterjee after the end of a zorbing session.

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