Bhubaneswar: The International Yoga Day was observed across the state Thursday with Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram participating in a programme in Rourkela.
Highlighting the benefits of the exercise, Oram said people should perform Yoga regularly in order to keep themselves physically and mentally fit.
Oram, who joined a Yoga event at Ispat Stadium in Rourkela, said Yoga has attained recognition across the globe.
The day was also observed at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur near Balasore.
ITR’s Director B K Das emphasised on the importance of Yoga in maintaining physical, emotional and spiritual health. In the Pilgrim Town of Puri, the internationally acclaimed sand artist, Sudarsan Pattnaik, created a sand sculpture with the message “Yoga for harmony & peace”.
A number of yoga camps were organised throughout the state where people from different sections of society, including school students, politicians and distinguished personalities took part.
The day was also observed at educational institutions and industrial units in the state.
BJP, BJD slugfest over Yoga Day
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the state government for not celebrating the International Yoga Day officially Thursday.
Terming the state government’s act ‘grossly unfortunate’ and ‘anti-national’, BJP state general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said it has exposed the parochial and silly attitude of the Chief Minister (CM). “It is unfortunate that when the entire world observed International Yoga Day, our state distanced itself from the event,” he said.
“This shows the narrow mindedness and immaturity of the CM,” he further added.
Saying that the state’s decision to skip the event had insulted the country, Harichandan said, “Almost all countries in the world are celebrating the Day whereas it’s only Odisha which chose to be left out”. Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati said, “Yoga must be promoted by the government. There is a need for creating public awareness on Yoga cutting across party lines.”
“As the Central government has given utmost priority to it, that’s why the state government stopped its celebration totally,” remarked the Congress leader. He speculated that the Centre is not providing financial assistance for the observations. “Hence, the state has sulked and checked its official observance here,” he added.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) spokesperson and MLA Arun Sahoo said, “The state government has never barred any institution or organisation from practicing Yoga. There is no direction that the states are bound to observe it (International Yoga Day).” Dubbing the BJP’s allegation ‘baseless’, he added that the allegation is aimed at locking horns deliberately and reaping political mileage from the issue.
