Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of the Central Research Institute in Yoga and Naturopathy at Jatani in Khordha, via video-conferencing.

The PM also inaugurated the Central Drugs Testing Laboratory at Gothapatna in Bhubaneswar.

This apart, Modi inaugurated a Critical Care Block in Bargarh district.

In 2014, the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH, announced plans to establish an institute for chronic diseases and a 100-bed yoga and naturopathy hospital in the city. This facility was to include a modern yoga hall and a laboratory.

However, the project stalled because CCRYN was unable to acquire the 20-acre plot needed for construction due to insufficient support from the local administration. Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi had appealed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, requesting him to instruct the Khurda district administration to make the land available for the proposed institute.