In line with the International Yoga Day to be celebrated on June 21, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) will have three of a total of 75 heritage sites where special events of the day will take place. The three sites include the Suchetgarh border post in the RS Pura sector of the Jammu district, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) designated site Martand Sun Temple in Anantnag, and the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar.
All the three celebrations will be led by three union ministers including Jammu resident Dr. Jitendra Singh who is the Union Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and also holds Independent Charge of Sciences and Technology, Earth Science, Atomic Energy, and Space. He will celebrate Yoga Day at the International border in RS Pura with security forces. Local people have also been extended an invitation to participate in the event.
In the heart of the Srinagar district, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil will also lead the Yoga Day celebrations at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre near the Dal Lake. Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary of J&K, and Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, will also participate in the event.
At the 15 century Martand Sun Temple in the Anantnag district, Yoga Day celebrations will be led by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharti Pravin Pawar.
The celebrations in Kashmir will be a landmark with union ministers participating in them. Earlier the events like these were solely conducted by the forces and it was in 2018 when hundreds of the students mostly from the army schools were seen taking part in the Yoga events, especially at the Tagore Hall in Srinagar. Then governor NN Vohra also attended the event.
In 2019, CRPF carried out extensive Yoga Day celebrations at the Humhama CRPF recruitment and training centre. Hundreds of CRPF men and women took part in the event. BJP cadres of the state also celebrated Yoga day that year at a park in Srinagar under security cover.
However for the subsequent two years, the pandemic kept these celebrations low but on June 21 last year, CRPF men who were aboard a large boat performed Yoga in the middle of the Dal Lake.
Meanwhile this year, Yoga Day celebrations at 75 heritage sites where the special events of the Yoga Day will take place will be led by 75 Union Ministers. This has been integrated with Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav when India completes 75 years of independence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will participate along with thousands of participants in a Mass Yoga Demonstration at Mysore Palace ground, Mysuru, according to a statement by his office.
