Dehradun: A 'yoga mahakumbh' will be held in Rishikesh on the occasion of 'Ardhakumbh' next year and possibilities of developing yoga centres in high altitude areas, including Kedarnath, are being explored, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said on Monday.
"We have asked the tourism department to work out a plan to organise a yoga mahakumbh in Rishikesh on the occasion of Ardhakumbh next year and are also exploring the possibilities of developing yoga and wellness centres in the snowbound high altitude areas like Kedarnath and Auli," Rawat told reporters here.
"We have a strong feeling that if skiing events can be held on the snowclad slopes of Auli why not yoga sessions," Rawat said while unveiling a detailed action plan for the promotion of the ancient Indian discipline in the state.
The tourism department has been asked to explore the possibilities as it will give further boost to tourism by luring more visitors to these destinations,?he added.
He also named about a dozen places in Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, and Tehri districts where yoga and wellness centres will be developed to attract tourists.
Taking a dig at opposition BJP, the chief minister said that the state government was only associated with the wellness aspect of yoga and had left the spiritual aspect to the BJP which seems to understand it better.
"We are associating ourselves only with the wellness part of yoga. Its spiritual aspect has been left for our BJP friends to explain as they are experts at it," he said.
The tourism department has also been asked to initiate yoga and wellness programmes in five-star hotels of the state, he said.
Yoga corners will be developed in parks for which trainers will be made available by the Ayush department, he said, adding, Education department has been asked to prepare a proposal on inclusion of yoga in school curriculum and present it before the cabinet at its next meeting.
Yoga centres will also be developed in about 150 schools of Rishikesh and Jageshwar zones, Rawat said.
