Stage is set for the Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s mega Yoga show at Forest Research Institute (FRI) campus on the International Day of Yoga on Thursday.
The organisers have divided the sprawling ground before the majestic building of FRI into 42 blocks to accommodate 50,000 yoga enthusiasts on the day. An arrangement of more than 50000 yoga mats and equal number of water bottles have also been made. The VIPs and other dignitaries would perform Yoga in block A and B which is directly situated in front of the stage where the PM along with Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat and Union Minister of State for AYUSH, Sripad Yesso Naik would perform Yoga.
Meanwhile, the administration has made elaborate security arrangements in view of the PM’s visit. The Haridwar Dehradun highway from Dehradun airport has been decked up with PWD staffers now engaged in ensuring a smooth ride with the potholes patched up. The highway and the road leading to the Raj Bhawan would remain a no- traffic zone during the movement of the PM’s cavalcade. In order to get enough time for making zone- wise accommodation plan for Yoga and assigning places to each Yoga enthusiast, the organisers would close the entry at 5 am sharp. The Prime Minister would arrive at the venue at 6.30 am. He is also slated to address people from the stage before the start of the Yoga session. After the address, the Yoga session following the Yoga protocol would start at 7 am and would continue till 7. 45 am.
The AYUSH ministry and Public Information Bureau (PIB) have made arrangements to bring a contingent of over 100 journalists from the national capital to cover the event.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Union MOS for AYUSH visited FRI complex on Wednesday evening and inspected the on-going preparations. Apparently satisfied the preparations, the duo directed the officials to ensure that all arrangements are done to the perfection. The secretary AYUSH R K Sudhanshu, Garhwal commissioner Dilip Javalkar and district magistrate Dehradun S A Murugesan accompanied the CM and the Union minister on the occasion.
Yoga spirit envelops the State: CM
While hailing the Prime Minister’s scheduled Dehradun visit on the occasion of International Yoga Day as a something for the people to pride themselves on, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that it would bring Dehradun on the international horizon. He, further, said that the spirit of Yoga has enveloped the length and breadth of the State ahead of the PM’s visit. Terming Yoga as a luminous part of the Indian culture, lifestyle and heritage, CM said it should be taken to every individual.
Health dept gears up for the event
The health department has also made elaborate arrangements for the mega event. The chief medical officer Dehradun Dr S K Gupta said that 12 health posts have been set up at the venue of Yoga. These health posts would have specialists like physicians, orthopaedics and cardiologists. The department would also place 25 ambulances at all the parking spots. Besides, cardiac ambulances have also been deployed at the venue. CMO informed that safe houses have been set up at Dehradun airport where the PM’s plane would land, at Raj Bhawan where the PM would stay and also at the venue of the event. These safe houses would have facilities like operation theatre, cardiac care, Electro Cardio Gram (ECG) and defibrillators. These medical teams are provided the medical history of the PM and the team would have stock of the blood group of the Prime Minister (A +).
BJP leaders’ visit has eyebrows raised
In what many termed as a undue involvement of the ruling BJP leaders in the International Day of Yoga programme at FRI compound where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi would perform Yoga with thousands of Yoga enthusiasts, the national vice- president and state in- charge of the party Shyam Jaju, national general secretary Shiv Prakash and state BJP president Ajay Bhatt inspected the preparations at the venue on Wednesday. Observers opined that since the International Day of Yoga programme at FRI to be attended by the PM is a government’s programme the BJP leaders should not have restrained their enthusiasm and refrained from dabbling in a purely government event. They pointed out that the ruling party leaders should not try to lend the government programme an appearance of a party programme while both the Union Government and the state government are pumping funds for the mega event. Such unbridled enthusiasm might land both the Centre and the State Government in embarrassment, they said .