Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday announced a slew of measures to promote yoga among the masses, saying that it would improve health of the people and thereby cut medical expenses. Participating in the first International Yoga Day celebrations here on Sunday, Mr Naidu said the government would allot Rs 25 crore to the AYUSH department to conduct regular yoga classes. The money would be utilised to promote yoga practice and teaching, he said. The AYUSH department would monitor the appointment of yoga teachers. “Yoga should be a part of everyone’s life. People should practice yoga to improve their health and wealth,” the AP Chief Minister said. “AP government will allot more funds for yoga. This will ensure that the health budget is automatically reduced, as yoga will promote health and people need not visit hospitals,” he said.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the initiative to promote yoga at the international level, Mr Naidu said that India is No. 1 in the world in yoga and AP will be ahead of all other states in the country in practising it. “Now, 192 countries are following our traditional yoga. This is because yoga is needed to ensure people’s lives are stress-free,” he said.
The Chief Minister asked the people to continuously practice yoga for better results and positive thoughts. He said that there were no barriers to practicing yoga and everyone can adopt it, without restrictions.
Mr Naidu reminded that he had arranged yoga classes for MLAs during his earlier and present term. The CM practiced yoga for over half-an-hour, leading ministers and legislators.
Mr Naidu also administered a pledge to participants that they would continue to practice yoga. Ministers Kamineni Srinivas, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Kollu Ravindra and several MLAs and Telugu Desam leaders were present.
