Jamshedpur, March 9: “Go vegetarian,” Baba Ramdev told the 7,000-odd enthusiasts on the first day of the yoga camp at Gopal Maidan in Bistupur this morning.

Attributing the majority of diseases to faulty eating habits, Baba Ramdev came down harshly on soft drinks, which he believes is the root for many a serious ailment.

“Turn instead to gourd juice and lots of unadulterated water, as there is no substitute to that,” he said in his characteristic style of lifting both his hands in the direction of the Almighty.

“Say no to allopathic medicines and embrace naturopathy instead,” was also what the famous yoga guru had to say showing concern to offer permanent solutions to all major diseases that affect common people.

The maiden camp of the Baba in the steel city proved to be the ultimate crowd-puller with VIPs, including Union food processing minister Subodh Kant Sahay and deputy chief minister Sudhir Mahto and his wife, made their presence felt during the early morning camp which began from 5am.

Present prominently among others were BJP MLA Sarayu Roy, Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman and his wife Sumathi Muthuraman and Tata Workers’ Union president Raghunath Pandey among others.

Also present were the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner, Nitin Madan Kulkarni, and superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh — both followers of the yoga guru for years.

Elaborating on the use of allopathic medicines, the charismatic guru suggested that they provide temporary solution to the problem without eradicating it from the root while naturopathy scores above the former by bringing forth a permanent relief.

The camp gained momentum as Baba Ramdev picked up people from the crowd to engage them in doing asanas. What followed for the next two-and-a-half hours till 7.30am was a rigorous display of all 11 asanas popularised by the Baba.

“It is obesity which is a big problem, there is no bigger threat to health than extra fat in the body, that has to be cut down at the earliest,” he said while addressing his followers, all of whom listened in rapt attention as Baba Ramdev shared his expertise on naturopathy.

Having sold approximately the same amount of tickets of various denominations, the organiser — Yog Vigyan Shivir Samity — is expecting a gathering of 8,000 followers of the Baba on the second day.

“It is a very prestigious event and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for steel city citizens to attend Baba Ramdev’s camp here itself, it will definitely pick up momentum on Day II,” said M.D. Kedia, the secretary of the organising committee.

Organised along the sideline of the camp is a special service for all those who wish to get tips personally from Baba Ramdev.

They can directly speak to him over the phone between eight and nine in the evening. The hotline numbers are 2232 901/902/903 and 904.

“We thought of introducing this facility for all those who cannot be personally attend the camp in the early morning hours but would like to personally get suggestions from him,” added Kedia.

Interestingly, a group of 40 vaids (ayurvedic doctors) have arrived in the city from Hardwar to act as free consultants on various diseases. Staying put at the ground opposite Agrasen Bhavan in Sakchi, the team of vaids would continue with their stalls as long as Baba Ramdev’s camp goes on.