A number of historical and religious sites in Gujarat have been chosen for the International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21, with the government expecting the participation of over one crore people.
Modhera sun temple, Rani-ki-Vav, Bindu Sarovar, Taranga hills, Saputara hills, Pavagadh temple, Ambaji, Girnar hills and Lakhota lake are some of the important sites, where yoga camps will be organised all over the state, state education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said at a press conference today.
"We are expecting that 1.25 crore people will participate in these events, as against 1.9 crore people, who took part last year. Yoga camps are being organised at historical- religious sites and a number of people will participate," he said.
In one of the events, around 100 youths will perform yoga run on top of Girnar hill in Junagadh district, Chudasama said.
Around 8,000 school students will form a "yoga human chain" with the aim of creating a world record on this day, while prisoners lodged in jails across the state will also participate as they are already being trained in yoga, Chudasama added.
The main programme will be held at GMDC Ground in Ahmedabad, where Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and Governor O P Kohli will attend. At Nikol in Ahmedabad, Union Home Minister J P Nadda will take part in the yoga camp.
In all, yoga camps will be organised at around 40,000 sites in the state and 1,051 specially-abled students will participate at a camp in Bhavnagar. Prisoners across various jails in the state are being trained for the day, he said.
Various state government departments, trusts and religious institutions have been roped in for organising yoga camps, including Sports, Education, Youth and Culture department, district administration, NCC, BSF, Patanjali Yog Peeth, Art of Living, Lakulesh Yog University, Ram Krishna Mission, Swaminarayan, government and private universities and self-financed institutions.
