Mumbai: To address the challenges faced by ayurveda in Maharashtra, medical education minister Hasan Mushrif has announced establishment of a separate Ayush ministry on the lines of the Central ministry. As part of the process, several posts lying vacant for years in government ayurveda colleges will also be filled. Ayush is the acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homeopathy.
For the inauguration of the fifth national conference in Pune, organised by the Ayurveda Teachers’ Association and Maharashtra University of Health Science (MUHS), Nashik, Mushrif discussed the various efforts made to establish the important ministry.
Vacant posts in ayurveda colleges
Six posts of professors in government ayurveda colleges and 16 government-aided colleges have been lying vacant for many years now. Nearly, 90% of the posts in government colleges were filled through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) but the issue regarding vacant posts in government-aided colleges is pending in court.
Ayurveda has a prominent presence in the world
A senior health official said that the whole world is following ayurveda which was invented in India and yet there are problems in getting the treatments patented. He said the world recognised the importance of ayurveda during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Ayurveda should be promoted and information about it should be disseminated through various means. I have been raising issues related to it in every assembly session for the past several years,” he said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, health activists have welcomed the move, stating that India has innovated many traditional medicines which have been used to treat a plethora of diseases over the centuries. They said it will benefit the medical fraternity and patients who believe in its importance and give students deep knowledge of various traditional medicine systems.
