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Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Wednesday said the state government will celebrate the 12th International Day of Yoga on June 21 under the theme "Yoga for Health, Knowledge and Global Peace" with large-scale programmes planned across the state.

Addressing a press conference, the minister said the state-level celebration would be held at the Vidhana Soudha premises in Bengaluru from 6 am to 8 am and is expected to witness participation from around 5,000 yoga practitioners.

The programme is being organised in association with various organisations, AYUSH colleges and yoga groups, he said.

According to the minister, Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot will inaugurate the event, while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and other dignitaries are expected to participate.

Yoga gurus, eminent personalities from the state, international sportspersons and film personalities will also be invited to the event, he added.

In a statement, the health department said that a 45-minute yoga protocol demonstration prescribed by the Union Ministry of AYUSH will be conducted during the programme.

The celebrations in Karnataka this year would be organised with the broader vision of "Yoga in Every Home, Yoga for Everyone".

Overall, it is expected that nearly 25 lakh people across Karnataka will participate in the programmes organised on June 21 as part of the International Day of Yoga celebrations, it stated.

Officials said awareness programmes would be held at the state, district and taluk levels, with special focus on rural areas to promote yoga and public health.

As part of the awareness campaign, posters on the Yoga Day celebrations were unveiled today.

"The Karnataka AYUSH Department has already initiated preparations for the programmes and has categorised events into state-level and district-level celebrations in line with guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of AYUSH," the health department said.

The Government Ayurveda Research Centre, Mysuru, has planned 12 special national level social media competitions as part of the 12th International Day of Yoga celebrations, it said.

The department further said a national seminar titled "Vigyana Yoga" (Science Yoga) under the theme "Yoga for Health, Knowledge and Global Peace" would be organised at the Indian Institute of Science in the first week of June.

During the second week of June, a programme titled "Carcino Yoga" will be organised at Kidwai Cancer Institute, Bengaluru, they added.