Organise Yogandhra-2026 on grand scale : CM tells officials

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday directed officials to organise Yogandhra-2026 on a grand scale across the state, with a target of involving one crore people in yoga activities from village to state level. The CM reviewed the preparations for International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21. He was briefed on the roadmap for the Yogandhra-2026 programme.

"As part of Yogandhra-2026, activities should be conducted across all regions, departments and administrative levels with an overall target of one crore participants statewide," an official release, quoting Naidu said.

Officials informed the CM that a 14-day statewide yoga campaign would be conducted from June 7, culminating in International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21.

A state-level yoga event involving 25,000 participants will be organised in Amaravati, where Naidu is expected to take part.

The programme will be held on the Krishna River bridge being constructed as part of the West Bypass Road project in the Amaravati capital region.

Simultaneously, district-level yoga events with around 1,000 participants each will be organised at district headquarters under the supervision of ministers and senior officials. To strengthen implementation, the government plans to train an additional one lakh yoga instructors, supplementing the existing pool of 1.5 lakh trainers across the state. Officials said the campaign would be organised under the theme "One District, One Theme", with Rs 25 lakh allocated to each district for Yogandhra activities.

The programme will be implemented through coordination among the Health, Human Resources, Municipal Administration, Panchayat Raj, Endowments and Information Technology departments. Special yoga sessions will also be organised at 56 major tourist destinations, with two locations identified in each district.

Yoga events involving 500 participants will be conducted daily at selected tourist locations during the campaign period. In addition, yoga sessions will be held in parks, educational institutions, government offices, Swarna Ward offices and Swarna Gramam offices across the state. Officials said awards would be presented for outstanding Yogandhra activities at village, mandal, constituency, district and state levels. State Government Yoga and Naturopathy Advisor Manthena Satyanarayana Raju briefed the chief minister on awareness and training initiatives prepared for the programme.