Railway Minister participates in International Yoga Day Celebrations at Vijayawada

Vijayawada: Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister for Railways joined Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N.Chandrababu Naidu to participate in the International Yoga Day celebrations organized by the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh at A-Convention Centre, Vijayawada today i.e. 21st June, 2016.

The Yoga Day celebrations, which saw a huge participation of  citizens from all walks of life, including students was marked by performance of various yogic asanas, led by professional yoga practitioners. The Railway Minister too joined gathering in performing all the yoga asanas.

Later, addressing the participants, Suresh Prabhu emphasized on the need for practicing yoga to maintain health and lead stress free life. By practicing Yoga mind, body & soul will come together which makes human being a perfect personality. The society will be immensely benefitted by practicing yoga regularly, he added. The initiative of Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in making the International Yoga Day celebrations, a annual affair shows his far sightedness in taking the country and the people forward on the path of nation development.

The Railway Minister appreciated the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for inculcating practice of yoga in the state in a determined manner and leading by example. This is the beginning of a process towards a positive society, the minister stated.

Suresh Prabhu was felicitated with a memento by the Hon’ble CM of Andhra Pradesh on the occasion. Ravindra Gupta, General Manager, South Central Railway & Ashok Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager, Vijayawada Division also participated in the International Yoga Day.

Suresh Prabhu and AP CM jointly flag off New Intercity Superfast Train between Vijayawada- Secunderabad, Lay Foundation Stone for Doubling of Guntakal-Kalluru Railway Line and for Multi Modal Logistics Park at Krishnapatnam

Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister for Railways and N.Chandrababu Naidu, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh flagged off new intercity superfast express train between Vijayawada – Secunderabad; laid foundation stone for doubling of Guntakal-Kalluru Railway Line & Multi Modal Logistics Park at Krishnapatnam through remote video link at a function held at Railway Institute, Vijayawada  today i.e., on Monday 20th June, 2016.

Prathipati Pulla Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture, Agri Processing, Marketing & Ware Housing, Animal Husbandary, Diary Development & Fisheries and Krishna District In-charge Minister, Govt. of AP; Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Irrigation, Command Area Development and Water Resources Management, Govt. of AP; Kamineni Srinivas, Hon’ble Minister for Health and Medical Education, and Anantapur District In-charge Minister, Govt. of AP; Smt. Gadde Anuradha, Hon’ble Chairperson, Zilla Parishad, Krishna District; Koneru Sridhar, Hon’ble Mayor Vijayawada Municipal Corporation; Kesineni Srinivas, Gokaraju Gangaraju, Kambampati Hari Babu, Hon’ble Members of Parliament; Buddha Venkateswara Rao, Hon’ble MLC; Jaleel Khan, Hon’ble MLA, Vijayawada (West); were amongst the host of dignitaries present.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu spelt the plans of Railways to develop rail infrastructure and stated that railways will provide all logistical support to states for the purpose. India is poised for growth under the able leadership of Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and best possible synergy is needed to attain the goal. He was all praise for Andhra Pradesh and stated that the State is progressing fast. Railways are tuned to partner this progressive path of the state he added. The long coastline of Andhra Pradesh hold potential for enhancing rail infra, and multi modal logistics projects are planned to attain this purpose, he opined.

N.Chandrababu Naidu, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in his speech said that the newly carved state of Andhra Pradesh needs to be developed further, industrially and economically. He expressed confidence that Railways will contribute its might by developing and strengthening the Rail Network in the state. The state will develop as a crucial logistical hub in India with its strategic location and long coast line. The Chief Minister also said that the Govt. of AP will sign a MoU for a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in months time to develop rail infrastructure in the state.

Earlier, Ravindra Gupta, General Manager, South Central Railway in his welcome address stated that SCR is focused on delivering a qualitative service to its customers by continuously expanding its network and services. The flagging off of the new Vijayawada-Secunderabad Intercity Superfast Express, laying of foundation stone for Doubling of Guntakal-Kalluru Railway Line and Multi Modal Logistics Park at Krishnapatnam in SPSR Nellore district is bound to significantly strengthen rail infra in Andhra Pradesh. He acknowledged the support and advise of  the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in formulating the development plans in AP.

The newly flagged off train is the first ever single stop (Guntur) superfast service between Vijayawada-Secunderabad and the first non-stop service between Guntur-Secunderabad. The train, which will run six days a week (except Sundays) offers excellent convenience and comes as a much awaited need for a cross section of rail users including the anticipated demands of State Govt. employees travelling from Amaravati area to Hyderabad & back.

The train (Train No. 12796)  Secunderabad-Vijayawada intercity superfast express will depart Secunderabad at 05:30 hrs with effect from 21st June, 2016, arrive/depart Guntur at 10:08/10:10 hrs and arrive Vijayawada at 11:00 hrs on the same day. In the opposite direction, the train (Train No. 12795) Vijayawada-Secunderabad Superfast express will depart Vijayawada at 17:30 hrs with effect from 22nd June, 2016, arrive/depart Guntur at 18:20/18:22 hrs and arrive Secunderabad at 23:10 hrs on the same day.

The doubling of Guntakal – Kalluru railway line (41 kms), sanctioned in the Rail Budget 2015-16 at a cost of Rs 323 Crs along with electrification will lend a significant boost to rail infrastructure in Anantapur and adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh, facilitating faster movement of passenger and freight carrying trains in this heavily congested section, including in the direction of Bengaluru.

The Multi Multi Modal Logistics Park at Krishnapatnam being developed by CONCOR (Container Corporation of India Limited) is an offshoot of the MoU signed with Govt. of Andhra Pradesh to handle international and domestic container freight traffic. Coming up in an area of 140 acres near to Krishnapatnam Port, the logistics park will enable seamless handling of containerized traffic of exports & imports besides movement of domestic cargo.

Source:RailNews

No public holiday tomorrow; yoga voluntary for Govt employees

There will be no public holiday and yoga will be voluntary for central government employees tomorrow, when the country observes second International Yoga Day.

"There will be no holiday and all government offices will remain open tomorrow," a senior official in Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

He said the Centre has not made it mandatory for the employees to take part in yoga.

"It is voluntary. Necessary arrangements have been put in place to allow employees to attend yoga at various programmes being organised across the country," the official said.

There are about 50 lakh central government employees.

Over one lakh events have been planned in the country on second International Yoga Day. Of these, 10 regional-level mega events will be hosted in Varanasi, Imphal, Jammu, Shimla, Vadodara, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Bhubaneshwar and Hoshiarpur.

The main programme will be held in Chandigarh which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yoga day programmes will also be organised in 391 universities, 16,000 colleges and 12,000 schools across the country.

Over 1 lakh Yoga programmes and 10 mega events planned across the country 

On the occasion of the “International Yoga Day” on 21st June, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) will, in collaboration with over a dozen noted social organizations, hold 1,00,260 Yoga programmes at different centres across the country, out of which 10 regional level mega events will be hosted by major cities of Varanasi, Imphal, Jammu,Vadodara, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Bhubaneshwar, Shimla and Hoshiarpur. 

The main programme will, however, be held at Chandigarh which will be attended by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. 

Announcing this at a press conference here today, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Department of Youth Affairs and all the affiliated youth wings have perhaps, for the first time, undertaken such a grand initiative to engage largest possible sections of population across the length and breadth of India, on a single day for a single theme.

Elaborating further, Dr Jitendra Singh said, even as more than 1,00,000 Yoga programmes will be held across the country, as many as 250 of such programmes will be held at district headquarters and around 1,00,000 Yoga programmes at village level with the collaboration of local youth clubs there. 

In addition, Dr Jitendra Singh informed that his Ministry will be organizing Yoga day programmes in 391 Universities, 16000 colleges and 12000 schools across the country. 

At the 10 locations of regional level mega events, Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed that for the last 4-5 days, regular Yoga practice is already being conducted by around 500 trainers at each centre. 

In keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guiding spirit, the Department will try to ensure that these programmes are marked by an all-inclusive participation involving various social groups including NCC (National Cadet Corps), NSS (National Service Scheme), Patanjali, Art of Living, Bharatiya Yoga Sansthan, Brahma Kumaris and all other related organizations. 

Dr Jitendra Singh said, International Yoga Day is not only an occasion for all of us to remind ourselves about the well-being of mind and body, but this is also an occasion to celebrate the world’s acknowledgement of time-tested Indian tradition. He recalled that after taking over as Prime Minister on 26th May 2014, exactly after four months on September 27, 2014, Narendra Modi, while addressing the 69th Session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), put forward the proposal to adopt an International Yoga Day and, in less than three months, on December 11, 2014, in a historic decision, out of 193 members of UNGA, a record 177 unanimously passed a resolution to observe 21st June as International Day of Yoga. 

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “Yoga is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with ourselves, the world and nature”. 

In the times to come, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will come out with several more innovative and path breaking decisions to make the youth of this country a part of India’s mainstream march ahead. 

Major General (Retd) Dilawar Singh, Director General of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and Dr. Girish Kumar Tuteja, Director of NSS (National Service Scheme) were also present on the occasion. 

Source:PIBNEWS

Ministry of Tourism celebrates International Yoga Day on June 21,2016

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice having its origin in India, which aims to transform both body and mind; and on 11th Dec. 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the International Day of Yoga. 175 nations, including USA, Canada and China co-sponsored the resolution and it had the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UNGA Resolution of such nature.

Ministry of Tourism is celebrating the 2nd International Day of Yoga on 21st June 2016 by hosting a FAM Tour for a group of 50 foreign delegates consisting of Tour Operators/ Travel Agents/ Media Persons/ Opinion Makers/ Scholars from 20 countries which are source markets and the markets that matter for promotion of Yoga and Wellness. This group of 50 delegates will split into 2 group, which will participate in Delhi and Chandigarh on 21st June, 2016, separately. Both the groups will then follow a tour program including visit to the wellness & spiritual centres in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Trivandrum, Cochin, Neyyar (Kerala), Pondicherry & Chennai.

Source:PIBNEWS

New Delhi: In light of International Yoga Day celebrations on Sunday, Delhi Metro operations would start at the crack of dawn with the first train scheduled to leave all terminal stations at 4 am.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has extended the facility a day prior to the mega event also, as the ‘Prajapati Brahma Kumaries’ organisation has planned similar celebrations at Red Fort.

“Two extra trains will be run for public service from terminal stations of all Lines at 4 am and 4.15 am respectively on Saturday,” a Delhi Metro spokesperson said.

Special arrangement for ticketing will be done at Kashmere Gate and Chandni Chowk stations in view of the anticipated crowd at these stations.

On Sunday, trains would leave the terminal stations from all lines at 4 am and 4.30 am respectively.

At all the stations in the vicinity of Rajpath such as Race Course, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan, special arrangments for ticketing will be available.

However, the facilities would not be available at the Airport Express Line.

Railwaymen to perform yoga on Sunday

New Delhi: Railways, which has made yoga mandatory at all its training centres, has sought the participation of employees at a session to be held at Rail Bhawan here under the guidance of an expert on June 21.

According to a Railway Ministry circular, all employees including officials of the Ministry have been asked to attend an hour’s yoga session starting at 10 am on Sunday morning in accordance with the spirit of the International Day of Yoga.

However, the participation in this is voluntary, it said.

Railways had earlier made yoga mandatory at all its 295 training centres across the country and plans to cover all its employees by 2020.

“Steps are being taken for providing mandatory yoga training at all railway training centres to cover all employees by 2019-20,” Railway Board Member (Staff) Pradeep Kumar has said.

Railways has about 295 training centres for imparting training to its officers, loco pilots, guards, technicians and other services’ employees across the country.

As per the action plan, now yoga has become compulsory as part of training for which instructors are being hired.

Railways have issued instructions to all our zonal headquarters, divisions, field units and centres to be part of the yoga camp on June 21.