Visva-Bharati setting up 'Yoga Gram' with central grant

The Visva-Bharati has received Rs 5 crore central grant for setting up a 'Yoga Gram' in the university campus, a senior professor said today.

Surrounded by fruit plants, small 'yoga' themed cottages with tiled or straw roofs would be built in the 'Yoga Gram' where even tourists can attend sessions, said Prof Samiran Mondal, Head of Department of Yogic Art and Science.

"We will introduce people to the undiluted, purest form of yoga dating back to the ancient times," he told PTI.

Work for the first phase of the project has started on 15 acres of land in the compound of the 'Vinay Bhavan', the Institute of Education of the central university.

"There will also be books and audiovisual aids on our 2000-year-old yoga culture. The first cottage will come up soon after our visit to Belur Math to study the meditation rooms there," he said.

"The project has already started at the Vinay Bhavan compound and the first phase will be completed soon," said Officiating Vice-Chancellor Prof Sabujkali Sen.

The first phase has been funded by the Ministry of Human Resources after the authorities submitted project details before the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also the Chancellor of Visva-Bharati, to the university last month, Mondal said.

The Dinbandhu Andrews Hospital set up by Tagore to provide non-allopaethic medicine to the poor at low cost, will be renovated in the second phase of the 'Yoga Gram' project, Mondal said.

An ayurvedic garden with medicinal plants would also be coming up in the vicinity of the hospital, he said adding that the AYUSH ministry has been approached for funding the second half of the project.