THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government will take measures to set up a national ayurveda institute in the state with the assistance of the Central Government, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here on Wednesday. He was inaugurating ‘Ashtanga 2014’, an ayurveda expo organised at Government Ayurveda College here as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations.
The CM said that the demand for the formation of an AYUSH Department would be discussed in the Cabinet.
Special ayurveda treatment centre for elderly persons, which received a Central assistance of Rs one crore, will be made functional during the 125th year celebrations of the college itself. The rest of the amount will raised after holding discussions with the Finance and Health Departments, the Chief Minister said. He spoke on the need to encourage cultivation of medicinal plants to produce sufficient ayurveda medicines and offered all help from government’s side in this regard.
In his presidential address, Health Minister V S Sivakumar said that steps would be taken to start ayurveda palliative care treatment in all panchayats. In more than 95 per cent panchayats, palliative care is available in allopathy treatment centres, he said.
“For spreading medicinal plant cultivation, ‘Grameenam’ project is being implemented for which a project worth Rs 100 crore is submitted to the Central Government,” Sivakumar said. He said that more projects would be devised and implemented for the comprehensive development of Government Ayurveda College and the building constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore would soon be opened.
Deputy opposition leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan delivered keynote address. Senior BJP leader O Rajagopal, Ayurveda Medical Education director Dr T Sivadas, Indian Systems of Medicine director Dr Anitha Jacob and Ayurveda College principal Dr P K Asok among others spoke.