Ayush dept braces for Yoga Day celebration

LUCKNOW: The state Ayush department is preparing for a ‘mass exhibition of yoga’ across Uttar Pradesh to mark the fourth anniversary of International Yoga Day (IYD) on June 21.

“International Yoga Day will be celebrated at district, block, tehsil and panchayat levels across UP this year. On the directions of Ayush ministry, we have intimated officials concerned regarding the arrangements required for the same,” state Ayush secretary Muskesh Meshram said on Sunday.

Yoga Day is being celebrated across the globe since 2015.

In 2017, Lucknow witnessed a grand yoga celebration with participation of all districts in the state. The biggest event was held at Ramabai Sthal in Lucknow where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited as chief guest. The PM is said to be participating in a similar function in Simla this year.

In Lucknow, Yoga Day will be celebrated at many places. The largest event will be organised at Raj Bhawan lawn. “At least 2,500 participants are expected to participate in the function. Similar events will be organised at 10 other parks in the city,” the officer informed.

At Raj Bhawan, Governor Nam Naik, 84, will participate in the yoga function with Union home minister Rajnath Singh and chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

“Yoga ensures physical, social and emotional well being, which is most needed for youngsters. So, we are trying to include maximum number of youths in our programmethisyear,”explained Meshram.

To motivate youngsters, the department has sought support from the National Cadet Corps (NCC).

According to Ayush officials, the statewide exercise is being organised on shoestring budget. To fund the event, the Ayush ministry has released Rs one lakh each for 75 districts of UP while an additional Rs 50,000 for every district has been released by the state Ayush department. The department has also provided 2,000 trained instructors to facilitate yoga training for the function. “We expect an average attendance of at least 10,000 people at the yoga venues in every district on June 21 to make the day historic,” asserted Meshram.

APP TO LOCATE EVENTS

The Central Council for Research in Yoga has launched an app, which can be used to find yoga events and register new events across the globe.

The app ‘Yoga Locator’ is available for download on both Google and Apple stores. It will also help the Ayush department to assess the exact number of yoga events held on the day and the number of people who participated in the events.

PAYMENT OF TRAINERS

The state Ayush department released a fund of ₹27 lakh to pay for the yoga trainers who assisted in preparation of the Yoga Day event last year. At least 287 such trainers reportedly alleged that they were not paid for the event.

“The amount has been released to the LU for distribution to yoga trainers,” said Meshram.

LUCKNOW STUDENTS AT UN CENTRE

As many as 64 students of Lucknow Montessori School will participate in the International Yoga Day celebrations at United Nations centre in New York on June 21. The students left on June 11 and will return on June 23.