Month-long campaign to make yoga integral part of everyday lives of people, says A.P. Health Minister

The month-long government campaign, Yogandhra, aims at making yoga an integral part of everyone’s lives, said Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Satya Kumar Yadav on Wednesday (June 18).

Participating in the prize distribution ceremony for the winners of the State-level yoga competitions held as part of the 11^th International Yoga Day celebrations at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram in Vijayawada, the Minister said that thanks to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yoga has reached the people of 175 countries. He also lauded Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for taking a step further and organising month-long yoga programmes in the State.

He said as part of the campaign, yoga programmes were held at 103 tourist destinations in the State, and registrations has reached 2.3 crore against the expected 2 crore.

Later in the day, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh said focussing on mental health is important and any goal can be achieved if there is mental peace. Yoga helps in keeping oneself composed, he added. The Minister said he was happy to see that yoga is gaining popularity in European countries as well.

In the State-level competitions held on June 16, 17 and 18 at Don Bosco School in Guntupalli of Ibrahimpatnam mandal of NTR district, 526 people participated from across the State in 15 categories. Out of them, 193 have been declared winners. Out of the total winners, 38 were from Alluri Sitarama Raju and Parvathipuram Manyam districts.

The winners will now get an opportunity to perform yoga at the International Yoga Day celebrations in Visakhapatnam on June 21, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

AYUSH Director K. Dinesh Kumar, Secondary Health Director A. Siri, District Collector G. Lakshmisha, Joint Collector S. Ilakkiya and others presented prizes and congratulated the winners. Earlier, members from the Amaravati Yoga and Aerobics gave a performance on the theme of ‘Operation Sindoor’.

Published - June 18, 2025 08:34 pm IST