The Centre for Traditional Medicine and Research (CTMR), Chennai, has completed one year of the dream project of Department of Ayush, 'Documentation and Validation of Local Health Traditions', in the state. On completion of the project, CTMR will submit the validation report to the department of Ayush.

The objective of the project is to support and help sustain the lost traditional health practices of the country and to give a boost to the less expensive method of treatment.

The Department has granted Rs 30 lakh towards the three year project covering four districts in the state in the first phase. Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri are the districts where in the project is being carried out, said Dr T Thirunarayanan, secretary to CTMR.

"So far 170 traditional healers have been interviewed and their healing practices documented. As Part of the field based research activity, a one day 'Traditional Healers Conference' was organized at the Forest Extension Centre, Krishnagiri on June 28, this year. More than 70 local health healers (Vaidyas) from the districts of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri took part in the conference," he said.

As resource persons, about 10 institutionally trained Siddha physicians and 15 field staff of the forest department took part in the programme.

Dr M A Kumar, deputy advisor to Siddha and Nodal Officer for LHT (Local Health Tradition) projects, Department of Ayush has presided over the inaugural session and delivered a lecture detailing the objective of this interactive program. He stressed that the traditional medical science had survived all these years mainly because of the oral traditions handed over by the healers to the posterity as institutes have come up only in the last four decades.

S Ganesan, the district forest officer, Hosur, in his inaugural address emphasized the need to live in harmony with the nature, which is the cornerstone of health care in traditional medicine and appealed to the practitioners to use the medicinal plants in a sustainable way and regenerate them in home gardens, community parks and as hedge crop in their agricultural land.

Four Vaidyas were presented 'Best healer' award on the occasion. Kembae Ramiya of Urigam at the age of 84, not only provides treatment in the interior forest village, but maintains a good herbal collection and imparts knowledge of the healing practice to seekers.

P R Krishnan aged 82 is continuously imparting training to a group of 40 healers for a period of 12 years and created a good library and a miniature common medicine processing facility at Dharmapuri.

P Kathirvel of Nalampatty, a bone setter, treating at least 300 persons every day with the help of his assistants for whom he has imparted training and K Sivaprakasam of Thonganur who treats at least 500 persons every Sunday were awarded.

The awards were presented by Dr L P Yuvaraj and Dr K Kootharasan, senior Siddha physicians of the districts. Vaidya S Usman Ali, director - CTMR and Dr T Thirunarayanan shared the findings of the research so far and the healers took active part in the deliberations which followed.

Dr P.Sugumaran, Dr N Hariharan and Dr L Sunandani, Siddha physicians, shared the views of the institutionally trained Siddha physicians and expressed their willingness to work closely with traditional healers.

The healers displayed the fresh plants used by them, raw drugs used by them and rare form of medicines prepared by them.