Yoga Mahakumbh kicks off in Haridwar

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday inaugurated a three-day Yoga Mahakumbh session, by lighting the traditional lamp at Pantdweep in Haridwar. He appealed to locals to participate in large numbers to make it a success and catapult its popularity worldwide. The CM said his government expects foreign yoga gurus and practitioners to come again in next year.  

He said, “Yoga and spirituality are instrumental in disseminating Indian knowledge to foreign lands. The international yoga festival in holy twin cities Rishikesh and Haridwar has created platform in glorifying Ganga, yoga and Himalaya which are cultural heritage of state.”

He expected that sincere efforts could invite more pilgrims and tourists regularly visiting Haridwar to explore lesser known places of Devbhoomi. There will be expansion of ghats along Ganga river for 2022 Mahakumbh fair. A cultural centre will be set up in Devprayag to mingle Ganga, yoga and culture.

On the occasion, state tourism secretary Shailesh Bagouli said that more than 2,000 registered persons learned yoga at Parmarth Niketan and Ganga Resort. The tourism department is going to prepare annual yoga calendar in state government’s bid to make Uttarakhand a hub of yoga art.

Swami Chidhanand Saraswati said, “Haridwar is a pious land which had witnessed big changes in past. By organising yoga mahakumb, state government has sown the seeds of revolutionary change and various educational institutes of this city are going to participate in this noble mission.”