The yoga ashram built about 48 years ago by that time’s politically connected Dhirendra Brahmachari at Mantalai in the Udhampur district is being developed as a state of the art yoga centre by the Modi government.

Brahamchari, who was the yoga guru of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had built the ashram sprawling over an area of 126 acres in the scenic location. The yoga centre has remained in a state of neglect after Brahmachari died in an air crash near the ashram in 1994.

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The credit for the revival of the ashram goes to Dr Jitendra Singh, minister in PMO, who represents the area in the Lok Sabha.

Singh tweeted; “Mantalai Yoga Centre, a brain-child of Late Swami Dhirendra Brahamchari & initiated during Indira Gandhi regime,was left abandoned for last 30 years by  successive UPA/Cong govts. Now revived by @NarendraModi Govt, to be developed as state-of-the-art centre”.

#ConstituencyUpdate: Mantalai Yoga Centre, a brain-child of Late Swami Dhirendra Brahamchari & initiated during Indira Gandhi regime,was left abandoned for last 30 years by successive UPA/Cong govts. Now revived by @NarendraModi Govt, to be developed as state-of-the-art centre. pic.twitter.com/go92ok63bT

— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) June 3, 2019

The centre has sanctioned a grant of Rs 82 crore for its revival, sources said. A central team recently visited Mantalai to take stock of the situation.

The Statesman had recently carried a report with pictures depicting the neglect of the ashram where Brahmachari had built his own airstrip, helipad, orchard, cattle shed, swimming pool, zoo and various other facilities for his disciples. A fleet of limousines used by the highly influential Brahmachari has turned into junk.

He also had a fleet of his own aircraft that included a 4-seater Cessna, a 19-seater Dornier and Maule-5. Brahamachari also decided to set up his Air Aparna, an air taxi service. He had three personal airstrips, one in Silokra near Palam, and three private hangars. He had also built airstrips and helipads at Katra and Mantalai.

The palatial ashrams built by Brahmachari at Mantalai and Jammu around 1971 were decaying as these were tangled in legal disputes after his death.

In 1981, Brahamchari introduced yoga in the Kendriya Vidyalayas under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. He was the owner of Vishwayatan Yogashram in the centre of Delhi, now known as the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga. His campuses in Jammu, Katra and Mantalai are lying shut after his death.