City of Nawabs to create, record tomorrow on third Int'l Yoga Day

Lucknow: The City of Nawabs is set to create a record of sorts, when over 50,000 participants would do Yoga, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries, on the occasion of the third International Yoga Day here, at the Ram Bai Ambedkar ground tomorrow. With possibility of rains in the next 24 hours in this capital city and its nearby areas, the district authorities and the Union AYUSH ministry are ready with plan-B, in case of downpour during the programme. This would be the third international yoga day function, after being organised in Delhi and Chandigarh. The inaugural event at Rajpath in Delhi in 2015 established two Guinness world records awarded to the Ministry of Ayush, which organises this event.

The two records were for the largest yoga class, featuring 35,985 people and for the largest number of participating nationalities of 84 nations. During the second International Yoga Day at Chandigarh, around 30,000 participants had attended the event, along with the Prime Minister. Eleven parks in the state capital would also hold the Yoga programme tomorrow, simultaneously. "We are taking no chances and prepared for any eventuality, even if there is rain during the programmee," Lucknow District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said here today. The DM said, during the full dress rehearsal yesterday, the officials had observed some lapses like traffic management and other things, which will be taken care during the main event tomorrow.

Except for making a water proof pandal for the VVIPs , the authorities were helpless in making the same arrangements for the 55,000 people, who are slated to do Yoga along with the PM, UP Governor Ram Naik, Mr Adityanath and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. The arrival of monsoon has been delayed in UP by a week and weather office has predicted that by this week it will active in the state. The website of the IMD too has predicted that rains are expected in next 24 hours in Lucknow. During the last International Yoga Day function in the state capital on June 21, 2016, which was attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the KD Singh Babu Stadium, the Yoga programme was disrupted due to heavy rains.

But this time, Mr Singh would not be present as he has a fractured leg and would be in New Delhi. Meanwhile, the officials said the largest contingent for participants in the International Yoga day function at Rama Bai Ambedkar ground would be of 14,500 activists of Patanjali, followed by 10,600 of NCC-NSS volunteers, 8000 schools and college students, 5200 of Gayatri parivar, 4000 of Art of Living, 800 of Brahma Kumaris, 2500 of Defence and Central forces, 200 differently-abled and 80 foreign delegates. There would be dress code of white T-shirt with logo of 'Yoga for Harmony and Peace,' besides the area would have 50 big LED screens, 25 toilets, 19 water dispensing units and 3 medical booth. (UNI)