NEW DELHI: Ranchi, the state capital of Jharkhand, has bagged the pride of place for holding the main event of the fifth International Yoga Day on June 21. Shimla, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mysuru were other places shortlisted by the AYUSH Ministry for the event but Prime Minister Modi approved Ranchi. He will travel to Ranchi to lead some 30,000 people attending the event at the Prabhat Tara Grounds.
On Thursday, there will be a curtain raiser to the main event in Ranchi and it will be attended by several state dignitaries, besides yoga organisations and instructors.
The first International Yoga Day led by Modi as held in 2015 at the Rajpath in New Delhi while the last three main events have been held in Chandigarh, Lucknow and Dehra Dun.
Besides the main event at Ranchi, the government is organising the Yoga functions across the country on June 21. In Delhi, nine places have been identified for the major shows, including the Rajpath where the first Yoga day was held. Red Fort, Lodi Garden, Talkatora Garden, Nehru Park and Dwarka Sector-11 are among the places identified for the programme.The AYUSH ministry has urged all ministries and departments of the central government, all state governments and other related institutions to work in a coordinated manner to observe the day and secure long-term gains in the area of public health and well-being, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the State governments and all stakeholders are undertaking several activities to ensure good participation in the yoga day celebrations. To ensure a large number of people participate, some of the most accomplished yoga gurus of India had come together and developed the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP), the statement said, adding this essentially is a specified sequence of yoga asanas of 45 minutes duration.
The ministry is also encouraging individuals and institutions - including educational, government bodies, business firms, industries and cultural organisations to join International Yoga Day events for the benefit of their staff, the statement said.The ministry, which is the nodal body to oversee the annual celebrations, has organised several programmes since the inception of yoga day in 2015.The thrust of yoga day is on harmonious mass yoga demonstrations, in which millions of people participate, at thousands of venues.
