The Andhra Pradesh government is making preparations to ensure the participation of around two crore people across the state in International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present at Ramakrishna Beach in Visakhapatnam to mark the occasion. Nearly 5 lakh people are expected to participate physically at Visakhapatnam for the 11th International Yoga Day celebrations.

AP Chief Secretary K Vijayanand on Monday held a video conference with secretaries and district collectors from the State Secretariat to discuss key issues, including preparations for International Yoga Day. He stated that steps are being taken to ensure that 5 lakh people directly participate and perform yoga asanas in Visakhapatnam. He also directed district collectors to ensure that at least 2 crore people join the celebrations across all districts, extending to the village level.

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Vijayanand emphasized that district collectors must take special initiative and raise awareness among the public about the importance of yoga for maintaining good health in daily life. He added that circulars and government orders (GOs) would be issued tomorrow outlining the steps to be taken for organizing the celebrations.

Special Chief Secretary for Medical and Health and State-level Monitoring Nodal Officer for International Yoga Day, MT Krishnababu, delivered a PowerPoint presentation detailing the necessary arrangements. He recalled that in 2023, 1.53 lakh people participated in the celebrations at Surat, Gujarat, setting a Guinness World Record, with a total participation of 1.25 million people across India.

This year, Andhra Pradesh aims to surpass that feat with 5 lakh participants at RK Beach in Visakhapatnam and a total of 2 crore across the state. The theme for this year’s International Yoga Day is “Yoga for One Earth, One Health,” aimed at spreading awareness about the benefits of yoga. A month-long campaign titled “Yoga Andhra” will be conducted statewide to encourage daily yoga practice.

The programme will be carried out in three phases – training of trainers on May 21–27; training of master trainers at the mandal level on May 28–June 3; and general training at village and ward levels on June 4–16. Krishnababu suggested organizing a curtain-raiser event in all districts on May 21, with the participation of at least 10,000 individuals including public representatives, yoga instructors, and yoga practitioners.

He recommended holding a meeting with social media influencers on May 27 to spread awareness through their involvement. He also advised that special efforts be made to organize Yoga Day events at 100 tourist and spiritual centres across the state on June 21.