On Yoga Day, Madhya Pradesh Ministers Perform 'Asanas', Schemes Lose Breath

While ministers in Madhya Pradesh were seen performing yoga with poise and discipline on International Yoga Day on Saturday, the state's yoga initiatives appear to have lost their footing. Despite forming a Yoga Commission three years ago and setting up over 350 committees, the picture on the ground suggests the scheme itself has gone into a deep meditative state, from which it is yet to emerge. 

The Yoga Commission in Madhya Pradesh was launched with the promise of building a state-wide network to promote wellness and preventive health. The government says district and block-level committees were formed - 52 in districts and 313 in development blocks - extending from urban wards to rural panchayats. Yet, when NDTV tried locating functioning yoga centres, the trail led mostly to locked doors and abandoned or repurposed halls.

'Instructors Missing'

Nowhere is the picture more striking than in Bhopal - a city that inhaled death during the 1984 gas tragedy. A decade ago, the government allocated Rs 4 crore to build yoga centres specifically for gas victims suffering from respiratory ailments, because nearly 60% of survivors still suffer from chronic lung conditions

"The announcement sounds good, but there is no implementation. Yoga is missing, instructors are missing and, in some cases, even the centres are missing," said Rachna Dhingra, a social worker working with Bhopal gas victims. "Some of these centres have turned into wedding venues or municipal event halls," she rued.

Initially, the state government promised a yoga centre in every municipal ward in Bhopal with a budget of Rs 3.68 crore for 36 centres. That plan was then trimmed to just one centre per zone; and only seven were constructed. 

"On Yoga Day, they (the BJP government in the state) call the media and click photos. But there's no real intent to promote yoga," said Shailendra Patel, a Congress leader. "The centres for gas victims are shut. The Commission has no budget. It's only about publicity."

The official website of the MP Yoga Commission - www.mpyogaayog.in - also refuses to load. Instead of helping users locate nearby yoga centres or classes, the page offers a different kind of spiritual experience: a blank screen.

Government's Take

"The system should be made accountable. Whether it's the Yoga Commission or the education department, all must work together. Rest assured, everything will be fine," said Transport and School Education Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh.

BJP MLA Bhagwan Das Sabnani, however, offered a unique defence for the situation: "What do you need money for in yoga? Just spread a mat and start. Yoga needs minimal equipment."