Kolkata: Yoga is being taken to corners of Bengal where roads give way to rivers, forest trails and high mountain paths, as the state forest department gears up for the 12th International Day of Yoga on June 21 with events spread across the state's most varied landscapes.
Dry runs have already begun in the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, with sessions held for departmental staff at Gorankathi Camp and at Baghmara Beach, underlining the department's push to take yoga beyond towns and stadia into protected areas and frontline workplaces. From the higher Himalayan reaches of North Bengal to the mangrove forests of the delta, the plan is designed to link wellness with conservation messaging at tourist-facing sites as well as remote forest camps.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Raju Das said participation has picked up across the state. "Thousands of forest staff have started participating in dry runs across forests of Bengal," he said, describing an observance that will span "hills at 12,000-13,000 ft," the Teesta riverbed in the Dooars, and the "saal and mangrove forests of south Bengal."
Yoga with fishermen of the Sundarbans
Among the headline events is 'Yoga with fishermen of the Sundarbans', where it intends to place community life at the centre of a global wellness day. Das framed the Sundarbans as a living example of shared space between people and wildlife. "Sundarbans not only supports a healthy tiger population, it also symbolises co-existence of both the wildlife and the fishermen folks on the landscape. This yoga day will highlight the same as it merges the concept of staying healthy by staying close to the nature and paying respect to the nature," he added.
Yoga at Sandakphu
In the hills, yoga is planned at Sandakphu, the highest point in Bengal. Das pointed to its ecological significance: "Sandakphu is part of the Singalila National Park that is home to rhododendron, red panda and Himalayan black bear. It's ecologically sensitive and the highest point of Bengal. Yoga sessions by forest staff here is aimed at giving a message of not only being healthy but also saving the ecologically sensitive zones," he added.
Officials are also planning sessions in Jaldapara and Gorumara with departmental elephants forming the backdrop, tying in tourism landscapes with the department's working assets. North Bengal has "more than 90 departmental elephants in Gorumara and Jaldapara" used for "tourism, patrolling and forest protection," a source said.
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