Ambikapur, June 21: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday led thousands of citizens, students, and public representatives in a state-level mass yoga session at the PG College Ground here to mark the 12th International Yoga Day. The event drew massive participation from women, youth, and top state officials, highlighting this year’s global theme, “Yoga for Healthy Aging.”

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister termed yoga as an invaluable gift of India’s ancient sage tradition that harmonizes the body, mind, and soul. He urged citizens to integrate yoga into their daily routines rather than limiting it to a single-day celebration to counter modern lifestyle challenges.

The Chief Minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for gaining global recognition for yoga at the United Nations in 2014. Regular practice, he noted, acts as an effective preventive measure against modern lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

In a significant policy announcement, Sai stated that the state government has approved a proposal to shift the administrative jurisdiction of yoga from the Social Welfare Department to the Medical Education Department. This restructuring aims to strengthen yoga education, research, and public training under the AYUSH framework across schools, colleges, and rural areas.

During his address, the Chief Minister also paid tribute to the late former Chhattisgarh Yoga Commission Chairman Roop Narayan Sinha for his contributions to promoting wellness in the state. Highlighting welfare initiatives for tribal youth, he announced that the capacity of the tribal youth hostel in Delhi has been expanded from 50 to 200 seats, noting that 13 tribal candidates from the state recently cleared the UPSC preliminary examinations.

State Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, local MLA Ram Kumar Toppo, and several other public representatives also performed yoga alongside the public at the venue.