International Yoga Day: Govt wants to promote use of eco-friendly products

The Ministry of AYUSH has prepared a concept note to raise public awareness on opting for eco-friendly yoga accessories

The government has a new theme for International Yoga Day 2019. It wants to promote the use of eco-friendly accessories and products during the celebrations. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, or AYUSH, has prepared a concept note to raise public awareness on opting for eco-friendly yoga accessories. The note urges ministries to not use PVC mats with a “large-scale presence of cheap varieties” available in the domestic market because they are not recyclable, has contaminants, and adds to air pollution. It has asked ministries to use yoga mats made from jute, rubber and other materials. "Government bodies, yoga institutions and yoga teachers are all potential influencers who can help create more awareness about the same," the concept note, circulated in various ministries, said.

Yoga Day in Ranchi

The main event for this year’s Yoga Day is set to be held in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (pictured) will perform yoga and deliver a short address there. Interestingly, Jharkhand is scheduled for Assembly polls in October. The PM on Thursday tweeted a video clip with the hashtag Yoga Day 2019. “Doing Tadasana properly would enable you to practice many other asanas with ease. Know more about this asana and its benefits,” he tweeted. The main event of the first Yoga Day in 2015 was held in New Delhi. In 2016, it was held in Chandigarh. Punjab was slated to go to the polls in early 2017. The PM attended the 2017 Yoga Day event in Lucknow. UP had elected a Bharatiya Janata Party government just a couple of months before that. In 2018, Dehradun hosted the main event with the PM underlining the importance of the state of Uttarakhand as the birthplace of yoga.

No kissing up to the boss

Guna Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shivani Garg issued an intriguing order to her subordinates: "All patwaris, revenue inspectors, nayab tehsildars and tehsildars, please note: If any one of you provide liquor or chicken to additional district magistrate (ADM), I will have to take action against you. I will propose an action for providing undue advantage to your senior officer," she said in the official WhatsApp group. After the message went viral on social media, she issued a clarification. The ADM would frequently demand that her subordinates bring liquor and non-vegetarian food for him. Fed up, they submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate, which elicited no response. So Garg took it upon herself to issue the warning. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government has issued immediate transfer orders for the ADM, Dilip Mandavi.