Hooghly river to turn into floating Yoga arena as 509 boats join celebration
New Delhi, June 15: On the occasion of International Yoga Day ( June 21), Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform yoga with 10 lakh people in Kolkata. The theme of this year’s Yoga Day has been kept as “Yoga for Healthy Ageing”. Along with the main event, yoga will be performed on 509 boats in Hooghly River.
Addressing a special ‘Curtain Raiser’ press conference held at the National Media Centre on Monday, Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav said that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yoga has become a global movement today. Taking this vision forward, this year’s special theme has been kept as “Yoga for Healthy Ageing”.
Union AYUSH Minister Pratap Rao Jadhav said that this year on Yoga Day on June 21, the main event will be held on Red Road in Kolkata. Pratap Rao Jadhav said that Bengal Day will be celebrated on June 20th, and a yoga meditation program will be held on June 19th.
He explained that preparations for Yoga Day are progressing rapidly in Kolkata. In West Bengal, yoga has never been given due importance in the last 50 years, even though Swami Vivekananda, a Bengalite, promoted yoga worldwide. Therefore, the main Yoga Day event is being held in Kolkata this year. A Run for Yoga program will be held in Kolkata on June 19th.
He also stated that yoga will be held at 38 locations in Delhi, with the main event taking place on Kartavya Path in Delhi. This year, the Ministry of Culture will organize Yoga Day at 100 sites of archaeological significance. He urged more people to participate in yoga on Yoga Day and share their selfies on social media.
He stated that yoga has become a global mass movement. All embassies of the Ministry of External Affairs will organize outreach programs on Yoga Day. This year, the British Embassy in India will perform yoga with the British Prime Minister. Last year, yoga was performed with the Prime Minister of Japan.
Present on the occasion were Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Monalisha Dash, Joint Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, and Dhirendra Ojha, Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau.
