The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) celebrated International Day of Yoga with a ‘Ghat Par Yoga’ event at the BSF Kayaking Camp in Sonia Vihar, on the banks of the Yamuna River. This event, part of the broader Namami Gange initiative, drew around 1,000 participants, including NMCG officials, NGOs, BSF personnel, Ganga Vichar Manch members, students, and children.
This year’s theme, ‘Yoga for Self and Society,’ highlights the dual benefits of yoga for individual wellness and social harmony. The event emphasized yoga’s holistic impact on personal health and community cohesion.
Shri Rajeev Mital, DG-NMCG, spoke at the event, recalling Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s proposal at the 69th United Nations General Assembly on September 27, 2014, which led to the establishment of International Yoga Day. With the support of 175 Member States, the first International Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21, 2015, and has since become a global phenomenon.
Shri Mital underscored the unique spiritual and physical benefits of yoga, noting its historical presence across civilizations. He highlighted that yoga not only integrates the mind and body but also connects individuals with nature and society.
This year, Yoga sessions were organized at 139 locations across the Ganga Basin by District Ganga Committees, in coordination with State Mission for Clean Ganga (SMCG), yoga trainers, Ganga Praharis, Ganga Vichar Manch, Ganga Task Force, Ganga Doots, students, and local officials. These sessions took place along the banks of the Ganga River and its tributaries, promoting yoga’s benefits to a wide audience.
The Bhuvan Yoga App, launched by the Ministry of AYUSH and developed by ISRO, received a great response from participants. The app allowed users to share their yoga experiences, pictures, and feedback from various locations. This innovative platform uses real-time crowd-sourced data and geospatial technology to enhance the yoga experience through spatial intelligence and visualization.
