The Ayurvedic Medical Association of India (AMAI) has demanded to the Kerala government to form a separate department for Ayush in order to promote the system in the state in general and for researches in the field in particular.

A resolution to this effect was passed at the 14th annual state conference of the AMAI at Kozhokode in Kerala.

The resolution said that notwithstanding pressures from the central government to create an Ayush department, the state government is not taking any positive steps. In several other states, separate departments are working for Ayush systems. AMAI has given a representation to the union minister of state for home affairs, Mullappalli Ramachandran in this regard, who was chief guest at the conference. The minister said he would pressurize the state government to realize the demand of the Ayurvedic fraternity in the state which is considered as the hub of Ayurveda. The association felt that the absence of Ayush department is always a hurdle to the growth of Ayurveda system in Kerala.

Apart from a separate department for Ayush, the AMAI has also demanded that ayurvedic dispensaries should be established in all the village Panchayaths in the state. Currently, there are only 182 dispensaries in the state. Steps should be taken to include the traditional healing system of Ayurveda in the state’s Public Health Act whose draft favours only allopathy.

The central as well as the state government should not encourage the quacks to treat Ayurveda in the name of tradition as there are plenty of qualified graduates and postgraduates come out of universities every year. The resolution said as per the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, the state government must introduce the Kerala Medical Practitioners’ Bill to solve the issues of quacks.

As a promotional step from the central government, Ayush system should also be included in the healthcare services for defence personnel.

Later while inaugurating the scientific session in the conference, the minister said compared to modern system, Ayurveda has no side effects. Plenty of multinational pharma companies are coming into the state which may adversely affect the traditional system of the land. He stressed the need for an Ayurveda Mission for the promotion of the system and requested the practitioners and manufacturers to reduce the prices of the products so as to enable the poor patients to avail its benefit.