International Yoga Day celebrated with enthusiasm in Bengal

Hundreds of people -- men and women, young and old, VIPS and commoners -- on Thursday observed the fourth International Yoga Day in West Bengal by practicing yoga across the state, both in rural and urban areas.

In Kolkata, Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma took part in a yoga event near Shaheed Minar in the central part of the city along with fellow BJP leaders from the state and hailed yoga for emerging as a widely celebrated global practice.

He said yoga, the manifestation of deep-rooted Indian tradition, has been fondly embraced across the globe.

Elsewhere in the state, the Border Security Force's South Bengal Frontier organised an hour-long yoga activity at the Digberia BSF camp in North 24 Parganas district's Madhyamgram as per the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) issued by the Ministry of Ayush.

The illustrious event inaugurated by senior officers of frontier saw approximately 1,000 Central Armed Police Forces personnel from the BSF, CISF, SSB, and NSG participating together in yoga activities.

Terming yoga as an "important practice" for physical, mental and spiritual upliftment, the officers said, " BSF encourages local residents near the campuses and bordering areas to participate in the programme and spread awareness about the importance of Yoga in their lives."

The students and campus residents at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in state's West Midnapore district also observed the event at the Technology Students Gymkhana.

The institute also organised a demonstration by Yogi Biswa, a yoga guru and health educator from Kolkata followed by a lecture demonstration on the latest trends in yoga by Yogacharya Sandeep from the Bihar School of Yoga.

The Institute also organised a pre-event session on June 20 for school children and campus residents that included awareness campaigns such as quiz, discussions and practice session.

--IANS

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