PM Modi Leads 11th International Yoga Day at Vizag

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday joined a grand International Yoga Day event in Andhra Pradesh. The event is taking place along a 26-km stretch from RK Beach in Visakhapatnam to Bhogapuram. Over 3 lakh participants are expected to perform yoga simultaneously at this location.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan expressed his warm welcome to PM Modi, who arrived in Visakhapatnam on Friday evening. "I extend my hearty welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has arrived to participate in the International Yoga Day tomorrow (Saturday) in Visakha city (Vizag) where lakhs of people will participate in the Yogandhra event being conducted by Andhra Pradesh government," he stated on 'X’.

Massive Participation and Record Attempts

The Andhra Pradesh government aims to set multiple records during this event, including a Guinness World Record. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu mentioned that the event, scheduled from 6:30 am to 8 am, will be organised to gain recognition and establish records.

The theme for the 11th International Yoga Day is 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health’. This day is celebrated globally by numerous countries. The state plans to mobilise several lakh people not only in Visakhapatnam but also across various locations within Andhra Pradesh on June 21.

Extensive Preparations Across the State

In preparation for this large-scale event, extensive arrangements have been made along the 26-km corridor from RK Beach to Bhogapuram. The Chief Minister noted that up to 3.19 lakh individuals can perform yoga simultaneously at RK Beach.

The government has identified over 1.3 lakh locations across the state for yoga activities on June 21. Additionally, alternative arrangements have been made for accommodating 30,000 participants in Vizag.

Yogandhra Campaign and Tribal Participation

A month-long campaign named 'Yogandhra’ was launched by the southern state to raise awareness about yoga. This initiative included numerous activities related to this ancient Indian practice.

As part of this campaign, around 15,000 yoga competitions were held from village level up to state level. A total of 5,451 master trainers contributed their expertise, and over one crore participants received certification for various yoga programmes.

Logistics and Infrastructure

For smooth execution of this mega event, officials have prepared 326 compartments with each accommodating up to 1,000 people. Additionally, they have arranged for 3.32 lakh t-shirts and five lakh yoga mats for participants.

An impressive number of registrations have been recorded for yoga day activities with an estimated two-crore registrations surpassing expectations at reaching 2.39 crore participants worldwide.

The government aims to conduct yoga sessions at one lakh centres throughout the state while attracting five lakh individuals specifically in Visakhapatnam alone.

"As many as 25,000 tribal students will perform Surya Namaskars for 108 minutes," said Naidu. "The objective is to set records for the largest group and most people performing Surya Namaskars simultaneously."

However, Prime Minister Modi's cabinet members and BJP leaders across the country are taking part in the Yoga Day events. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir for the special day celebration.

Speaking at the occasion, he said, "As we said earlier, Operation Sindoor is not over yet... India is fully prepared to take every step against terrorism... Today, when we are celebrating International Yoga Day, we should also understand the true meaning of the word Yoga. Yoga means connecting every section of society with the culture and soul of India. This is Yoga."

Uttar Pradesh took part in Yoga Day celebration in Gorakhpur. Speaking at the occasion, he said, "Your wishes are fulfilled only if you are healthy physically... You can reach a higher level of spirituality through Yoga... It's the tradition of our Rishis that has been kept alive by our Vedas, Puranas and other texts..."