With things settling a day after all hype and hoopla on the International Yoga day, the stark reality is that the thousands of unemployed Yoga instructors in Uttarakhand are disillusioned and agitated over non fulfillment of repeated assurances made to them by the State Government in the past.
In his address on the International Yoga day at Pavilion ground here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister Harish Rawat accepted that the promise of jobs to the Yoga instructors could not be fulfilled. His asked the senior officials of the Government to find avenues for these instructors where they could be employed on a full time or part time basis.
The Federation of unemployed trained Yoga instructors had resolved to boycott the International Yoga day events but a harried government managed to persuade them at the last moment by assurance that their long pending demand for appointment of Yoga instructors in various Government departments would be soon fulfilled. “What we have got is only assurances and assurances. Now the Chief Minister is saying that he is bereft of funds but our stand is that he should at least fulfil his assurance of 500 posts of Yoga teachers in the Government schools. The cabinet has given its approval for creation of these posts but a Government Order (GO) is still awaited,’’ said one of a trained Yoga graduate.
The President of the Federation, Rakesh Semwal said that it is unfortunate that the state government is ignoring the demand of thousands of the trained yoga instructors. He said that the state government should fulfill its promise of appointment of Yoga instructors in the government schools.
“It is very depressing that the State Government has started Yoga classes in the schools sans Yoga teachers. The education department has distributed Yoga books worth crores of Rupees in schools but it keeps on ignoring the demand of job of trained Yoga instructors. Uttarakhand is the unofficial capital of Yoga in the world but it is equally true that politics has upstaged Yoga which is detrimental for the State,’’ he quipped.
There are more than 22,000 unemployed yoga qualified instructors in the State. The Federation of Yoga instructors is demanding that the state government should appoint Yoga teachers in the all the government schools. It is also demanding that government should appoint them either in Ayurveda hospitals or as as yoga instructors in the tourism sector.