Guwahati, Apr 6 (PTI) Union Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said Assam has the potential to become a major Yoga tourism destination in the country.
Assam successfully hosted two major Yoga Mahotsav in successive years (Sivsagar in 2022 and Dibrugarh in 2023) and this indicates that it has the necessary requisites to become a major centre of spiritual tourism, Sonowal said at a press conference held on the eve of the 75 day to International Day of Yoga Mahotsav to be held at the Dibrugarh University Playground on Friday.
”With the love and support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi , the Ministry of Ayush has identified areas of tremendous potential in the state and Yoga is one of them. The success of events like the Yoga Mahotsav not only boosts Yoga as a practice but also opens up new vistas of opportunity for the region and tourism can be one”, he said.
Another major area of potential that the Ayush ministry has identified is the prospect of building up the Ayush system of healthcare in the region, Sonowal said.
Ayush has a lot of potential in Assam and to realise it, several steps have been initiated, including a separate Panchakarma block along with a Pharmacology and chemistry building, equipped with the state of the art equipments at the Central Ayurveda Research Institute (CARI) in Guwahati, Sonowal said.
He said that both the projects will be completed and dedicated to the nation within this year.
”We also want to hone the rich traditional medicines of the Northeast and for this, a major survey is being undertaken in all the eight states of the North East so that these medicines can be standardised and make it available for treatment of human ailments. This will also open up economic opportunities for the region in the medical and pharmacology sectors”, Sonowal said.
The Ministry of Ayush is organising the ‘Yoga Mahotsav’ where the Union Minister would be present and Chief Minister of Tripura Manik Saha, Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Chowna Mein and the Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya Preston Tynsong, Union Minister of state for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and Union Minister of state for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameshwar Teli are also scheduled to attend.