The state government is planning to develop Rishikesh as ‘Arogya Nagar’, similarly Jageshwar, lohaghat and Tungnath would be developed as Arogya Kendras, declared Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat while speaking on the occasion of International Yoga day at Pavilion Ground on Tuesday. He said that the state organised three International level Yoga programmes at Rishikesh, Jageshwar and Haridwar last year in which thousands of Yoga enthusiasts from more than 100 countries participated. Rawat said that the Yoga sessions at VIP Ghat on banks of river Ganga, in Haridwar during Ardha Kumbh were appreciated by everyone. Congratulating the people of the state for participating enthusiastically in Yoga exercises on the day, the CM said that Uttarakhand has traditionally been a land of Yoga as its saints had propagated the message of Yoga to the world. He said that there is a need to develop the Yoga parks set up by state police in Dehradun and Haldwani. Rawat accepted that the state government has lagged behind in providing jobs to trained Yoga instructors but added that they would be appointed in full time and part time Yoga related programes. He directed the senior officials to set up a road map for spread of habit of Yoga among the people of the state.
A short Yoga session was also organised on the occasion in which large number of people including students and policemen participated. Yoga guru Sunil Kumar Yadav of Dev Sanskriti University coordinated the session in which various Asans of Yoga were performed by the participants of the camp. The Chief Minister felicitated Yoga gurus, Sunil Kumar Yadav, Yogi Gulshan Kumar, Swami Vishudhanand, Ishwar Bharadwaj and others for dedicated service to Yoga.
The health minister Surendra Singh Negi, Home Minister Pritam Singh, lok Sabha MP Mala Rajya laxmi Shah, parliamentary secretary Raj Kumar, Cabinet Secretary Shatrughna Singh, Director General Police M A Ganapathy, Principal Secretary Health Om Prakash and Principal Secretary Home Uma Kant Panwar were also present on the occasion.