Thousands participate in rehearsal for Yoga Day at Rajpath

New Delhi, June 19: Thousands of participants on descended on Rajpath to perform various 'asanas' during a rehearsal for the International Yoga Day on Sunday.

Officials of AYUSH Ministry which is the coordinating ministry for the event said that around 12,000 participants, comprising students from various schools, NCC cadets and others performed yoga asanas as per the common yoga protocol.

The rehearsal started at 7 am and concluded at 7.33 am, which was also the schedule for the June 21 event.

23 giant LED screens had been put up at the Rajpath for the participants to see the asanas. "The Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik and various senior officials of the Ministry were also present on the occasion and they also reviewed the preparedness during the rehearsals," a senior AYUSH Ministry official said.

A proper security drill was also conducted by security agencies on the occasion.

The June 21 mega event is expected to see participation of more than 35,000 people including government officials, NCC cadets, diplomats and others.

The yoga celebrations are being held in the national capital after the United Nations had in December last year declared June 21 as International Yoga Day, with 177 countries voting in favour.

The proposal had been mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first address to the UN General Assembly in September last year.

PTI