MADURAI: Responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed seeking a direction to set up Siddha dispensaries or hospitals at major temples in certain districts in Tamil Nadu, a vacation bench of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court issued a notice to the state government on Thursday.
Litigant J Jeyavenkatesh, who is the managing trustee of 'Indian Medicine Welfare Trust', said that the state health department, through a GO passed in 1970, had permitted opening Siddha dispensaries at major temples across TN, in addition to appointing Siddha doctors. But an RTI (Right to Information) report, obtained by the petitioner, said that the doctors' posts have been filled at only six of all the listed temples. Jeyavenkatesh sought a direction to establish the dispensaries and appoint doctors in major temples in Madurai, Tiruchy, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thanjavur, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts, based on the GO from 1970.
In an earlier petition, Jeyavenkatesh had sought the establishment of Siddha dispensaries. The high court, however, had dismissed his plea and said that the proposal required a relook.
On Thursday, Jeyavenkatesh filed a fresh petition and pointed out on Thursday the importance of the Siddha system of medicine and its usage during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the presence of the Siddha dispensary in the court premises. A Bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and P Dhanabal issued notice to the authorities concerned and adjourned the case for six weeks.