visva-bharati-to-build-yoga-village-and-park

Visva-Bharati University is set to become a key hub for yoga and holistic wellness, with the construction of a Yoga Village and Yoga Park on its campus.

 

The initiative, supported by the Union government’s Ministry of Education with an allocation of ₹10 crore, aims to promote yoga as a discipline blending physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

 

Vice-Chancellor of the central university, Prabir Kumar Ghosh, said the project will span over 35 acres and feature dedicated facilities including meditation huts, pranayama rooms, yoga asana cottages, kriya spaces, Ayurveda treatment rooms and a herbal garden.

 

The infrastructure will also include a yoga therapy centre and provisions for naturopathy.

 

“In our tradition, yoga is more than just physical exercise—it nurtures the mind and soul and instils discipline,” said Ghosh, adding, “We are grateful to the central government and UGC for supporting this project. The campus will soon be home to one of the 1,000 yoga parks being established across India.”

 

Importantly, the university plans to open these facilities to the general public in addition to its students and faculty, thereby expanding access to alternative therapies and wellness practices.

 

Ahead of International Yoga Day on 21 June, Visva-Bharati has begun groundwork for the Yoga Village. A pond is currently being dug, around which a herbal garden will be developed to support Ayurvedic and natural treatments.

 

Dinabandhu Andrews Hospital in the Vinaya Bhavan area will be repurposed as a day-care centre for yoga therapy.

 

Samiran Mandal, Principal of Vinaya Bhavan, emphasised Visva-Bharati’s historical role in promoting yoga and holistic sciences. “This yoga village will have six specialised cottages, a large green campus and modern infrastructure. Work has already started and we are moving swiftly to complete the project,” he said.

 

As a World Heritage Site, Visva-Bharati holds cultural significance, and its selection for this project reflects the central government’s effort to revive and promote India’s ancient wellness systems such as Yoga Shastra and Ayurveda.