Practitioners unhappy over shifting of yoga classes to dispensaries

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 2

As the Central Government approved shifting of the state-run yoga centres to dispensaries across the nation, local practitioners are unhappy over the decision.

A representation in this regard has been submitted to the Director, Health and Family Welfare, by a group of yoga practitioners. They said at dispensaries, they would be at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19.

The State AYUSH Society was organising yoga sessions at various government schools during the morning hours. However, after the government’s advisory, it has been decided to shift these sessions to dispensaries. According to officials, these sessions are meant for medical purposes, but were initially organised for the general public.

Meanwhile, a few of the yoga group members said the government should not have taken the step considering the situation at dispensaries. “We have been practising yoga at the Sector 35 government school for the past two years, but the government has suddenly shifted our venue to a nearby dispensary,” said Naresh Kumar Sood, one of the members of the group.

Another practitioner Kavita Bansal said: “We have attended two classes at dispensaries, but the space is unsatisfactory. We met the Director Health and he discussed the matter with the head of the dispensary, who also agreed to shortage of space at dispensaries. We demand that the classes should be held in schools only. Around 15 to 25 people practise yoga on a daily basis.”

“We are just following the government’s orders. We are working on providing a dedicated space in dispensaries. The programme was to be used for medical purposes and to help patients. We are against none, but we need some support. We are trying our best to solve the problem,” said Dr Manju Shree, Assistant Director, Government Homoeopathic Dispensaries.