Date:26/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/26/stories/2008072660740400.htm

New Delhi

Health mela to be held in October

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Capital’s annual health event, the MTNL Perfect Health Mela-2008, will be held in Chiragh Dilli Park here from October 17 to 26.

To provide a healthy environment for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in the city, the theme for the 10-day mela this year would be “Healthy and smoke-free Delhi”. The event is being organised by the Heart Care Foundation of India jointly with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Delhi Government’s Department of Health, and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited.

All forms of medicine

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Heart Care Foundation of India president Dr. K.K. Aggarwal said the mela would be a reproducible module of providing health awareness to people from all sections of society incorporating all forms of medicine under one roof through the medium of infotainment and one-line health “sutras”.

The organisers also said the mela would be a perfect picnic health spot for 10 days during the festive season between Dussehra and Diwali and a unique opportunity for people to know everything about health, diseases and their prevention.

Releasing the mela’s theme and logo, chief guest Pandit Birju Maharaj and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner Saswati Sen said traditional dancing was good for both mental and physical health and could be used as a preventive tool for most lifestyle disorders.

They welcomed the foundation’s effort in organising “Heritage”, an inter-school dancing festival for promoting traditional dancing. Other noteworthy activities at the mela will include daily competitions in poster-making, painting, slogan-writing, cartoon and collage-making.