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Plea to allocate funds for alternative health systems
Our Correspondent
Ludhiana, January 7
The Nature Cure Education Trust (NCET) has made a fervent plea to the state government to provide adequate infrastructure, basic facilities and financial allocation for ayurvedic and other alternative systems of medicine, which were till now being neglected.
In an interview here today, Mr S.R. Mittal, trustee of the NCET and honorary director of the Institute of Health Management (Alternative Therapy), said that a minimum of 25 per cent of the Rs 430 crore World Bank financial assistance, made available to Punjab Health Systems Corporations for improvement of health infrastructure in the state, should be allocated for development of ayurveda and other alternative systems, including naturopathy. He lamented that as a result of unfair treatment being given to alternative systems of medicine, little work had been done in the field of ayurveda, the basic science of human health. Without any exception, the ayurvedic dispensaries in the state were in a pathetic condition to the extent that power supply to most of them was disconnected for non-payment of bills. No funds worth the name were released for the purchase of medicines. Mr Mittal further said that the medical officers in ayurvedic dispensaries were given a raw deal in comparison to their counterparts in allopathic dispensaries and hospitals. They did not even have telephone facilities. He attributed the poor health of the ayurvedic dispensaries in Punjab to policy makers and bureaucrats who were biased against indigenous systems of medicine. Expressing his anguish at the gross neglect of naturopathy, he wondered that the nation revered Mahatma Gandhi, who was an avid practitioner of this system but due to persistent neglect, the system had failed to flourish. Claiming that the system was cost- effective and more suitable for a poor country like India, he regretted that the state did not have even a single institution imparting training in nature cure. He asserted that nature cure and ayurveda were increasingly being adopted by many of the developing countries and in the next few years, these systems might leave allopathy, called the modern system of medicine, far behind. “It is high time that the government shed its bias against alternative systems of medicine and these treated on a par with the allopathic system for allocation of funds and providing other facilities and incentives,” Mr Mittal remarked.
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BVM athlete creates national record
Our Sports Reporter
Ludhiana, January 7
The students of Bharatiya Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, gave a sterling performance winning 12 medals including 7 gold in the 17th National Athletics and Judo Championship organised by the Vidya Bharati Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Sansthan from December 26 to 29 at Satna in Madhya Pradesh.
Giving this information, Mr Baljeet Singh Gill, sports in charge of the school said Maneet Sharma hogged the limelight during this meet by establishing a national record. He took 2.01.07 seconds to finish ahead of others and broke previous record. Maneet and Priya Bawa of BVM School were adjudged the best athletes among boys and girls participants respectively. The medal winners of the school were: Maneet Sharma ( first in 200 m, 400 m and 800 m); Priya Bawa ( first in 800 m, 1500 m and 3000 m); Ganga Gautam ( second in 600 m and 4x100 m relay); Pramod ( third in 100 m); Team comprising Priya Bawa, Sakshi and Manisha Gupta finished second in cross country race (3km); Team comprising Rupali Arora,
Shakshi, Manisha and Priya Bawa finished third in 4x400 m relay; Nidhi won gold in judo (below 45 kg and Meenu bagged gold medal in 50 kg category).
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