Srinagar, June 18: Directorate of Ayush, Department of Health and Medical Education has made all the arrangements and is all set to hold the International Day of Yoga celebrated across the world on June 21.
The Directorate of Ayush is planning to hold 20 mega events across Jammu and Kashmir and the major events will be held in Srinagar and Jammu on Yoga Day.
Director AYUSH J&K, Dr Mohan Singh said in Srinagar the main event will be held at Botanical Garden where the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha will be the chief guest.
Similarly, he said in Jammu, the event will be held at Gulshan Ground, Gandhi Nagar where the Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will be the chief guest. And the third major event will be held at Jai Valley in Bhaderwah Doda.
He informed that the 17 mega events will be organized across all districts where respective Deputy Commissioners will be leading the Yoga Day celebration.
In addition to it, Yoga sessions would be held in all Health and Wellness Centres, Panchayats and Gram Sabhas.
The Director AYUSH said in March, the department started count down days and planned iconic sessions across all districts in J&K and districts were asked to hold sessions.
“Over the past four months, more than 500 pre-Yoga Day mega sessions were organized and the government has reached more than 3.5 lakh people physically,” he said.
The sessions were held for jail inmates, students in schools, Panchayats, Gram Sabha and PRIs members, teachers and staff of line departments were also involved in Yoga sessions.
“Today Non-Communicable Diseases like obesity, cardiovascular diseases, etc. are a huge challenge and people are encouraged to take in Yoga to prevent and fight the diseases and decrease the impact of diseases. Yoga holds a key importance in daily life,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India had directed to organize sessions and involve the community and make it a continuous process and make it part and parcel of people’s lives.
“The participation was beyond expectations. There has been a much better response in Kashmir than Jammu. Because there is a lot of mental stress in Kashmir and Yoga reduces stress and it is a good intervention. There is also drug addiction which is a huge disease,” the director said.
Dr Mohan said in the future the department will converge Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Cells in districts and it will work to limit the incidence of NCDs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Yoga Day has been celebrated across the world on June 21 since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India.
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in his UN address in 2014, had suggested the date of June 21, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares a special significance in many parts of the world.