Bhubaneswar, June 20 : On the eve of International Yoga Day, renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a seven-foot sand sculpture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi doing yoga at a beach in Puri. Using around six tonnes of sand, Pattnaik created the sculpture on the theme of 'Surya Namaskar'. Students of his sand art school joined hands with him to complete another sand art in an area of 3,500 sq ft showing 'Surya Namaskar'. "I created the sand sculpture of Narendra Modi because he has a big hand in popularising yoga at the international level. We always try to do something different through sand art," Pattnaik said. He also appealed to all to make people aware of "yoga for mental peace". The Padma Shri awardee sand artist has represented India in more than 65 international sand art championships, winning many prizes. During the Covid-19 pandemic, his campaigns through sand art was appreciated by the WHO. /IANS