Kolkata Prepares for Historic Yoga Day Celebration with PM Modi
Kolkata is gearing up for the 12th International Day of Yoga, which will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 21 at Red Road. A grand stage, measuring 12ft in height, 60ft in length, and 40ft in width, is being constructed for the event. The stage backdrop will soar to nearly 36ft, making it the largest stage ever built for any government event in the city.
First-Time Hosting for Bengal
West Bengal is hosting the International Day of Yoga for the first time since its inception in 2014. The state government is organizing the event jointly with the Union Ministry of Ayush. The stage is positioned in the middle of the approximately 2km long Red Road, near the Eden Gardens side, spanning the entire width of the road. Traffic on Red Road has been halted for a week to facilitate the preparations.
Massive Workforce and Arrangements
Over 500 workers from various companies are working round the clock to construct and decorate the stage, install lights and screens on steel structures along the road, and clean the venue. The event is expected to draw around 50,000 people on Sunday. Bamboo guards have been placed along roadside railings to manage the crowd. A police officer stated, “Many people will come to catch glimpses of the PM and CM without participating in yoga, so we raised the railing height with bamboos to prevent spillover onto the road.”
Progress of Work
Work on the yoga day celebrations began a few days ago. Suraj Shau, overseeing the arrangements, said, “About 70% of the stage work is done. Only some fittings remain. Workers are toiling in shifts; around 200 people are working this afternoon to finish the stage construction, after which decoration will begin. Given the pace, the venue will be fully ready soon.” Local worker Alamgir Shah added, “Some of us rest during the day and work throughout the night to prepare the setup.”
Workers from Outside Kolkata
Many workers from outside the state have joined the local workforce. Aryan Chouhan, a worker from Bihar, said, “I worked on the Yoga Day setup in Visakhapatnam last year. This time, the event in Kolkata seems bigger in scale.”
Additional Information
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