VIJAYAWADA: Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav announced that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has approved a Yoga and Naturopathy Research Centre in Amaravati.
The Centre had originally sanctioned the project in 2018, allocating 25 acres in Kondapavuluru, Gannavaram, but the previous YSRCP government repurposed the land for Jagananna Colony, a move Yadav criticised. The coalition government now plans to establish the centre at a cost of Rs 100 crore, with proposals sent to the Centre, he said.
In the Assembly, Yadav emphasised India’s global influence in traditional medicine, noting that 46 countries follow AYUSH systems, crediting PM Modi’s AYUSH initiatives.
He accused the YSRCP government of neglecting the AYUSH department, leading to dispensary closures due to staff and funding shortages. Since the coalition government took over, Naidu has reviewed the department, filling 458 of 1,087 vacant posts (40%), including 67 of 327 medical officer posts.
The previous government secured only Rs 71 crore in five years, while the coalition has obtained Rs 28 crore in three months. Plans include setting up a 60-bed AYUSH hospital in Kakinada with Rs 7.2 crore, and another 80-bed AYUSH hospital in Visakhapatnam with Rs 8.3 crore. Currently, 126 AYUSH dispensaries have been revived as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, he explained.