Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said yoga can be a way to bring the misguided youth back to normal life from drug addiction.
“Yoga can be a powerful and effective way to protect the young generation distracted by the vicious claws of drug addiction,” Quader said as he joined thousands of yoga enthusiasts at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka to mark International Yoga Day on Thursday.
His comment comes at a time when the government is conducting an anti-narcotics crackdown across the country.
Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in collaboration with the Indian High Commission organised the event attended by people from Dhaka and its adjacent districts.
“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has added a new dimension to yoga. Now it has spread to Bangladesh thanks to the Indian High Commission. When illegal drug is spreading across the country like tsunami, yoga can be a powerful and effective solution to drug addition,” Quader said.
On behalf of organisers, Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla said about 5,000 people joined the yoga this year in Bangladesh.
Diplomats from Vietnam, the Vatican City, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Palestine and UN missions also joined the event.
Shringla said, "Yoga practice is the simple way of a healthy beautiful life—we want to give this message to the citizens."
The Indian High Commission had first organised the event in 2000, when only 700 yoga enthusiasts took part in it. The numbers snowballed to about 1,500 in 2016 and 5,000 in 2017.
In 2014, Modi, a yoga enthusiast, had urged the United Nations to declare June 21 as International Yoga Day. Later, the UN General Assembly recognised the day.