Sonowal Announces Rs 100-cr AYUSH Projects For Nagaland

Kohima: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping (PSW) & Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal announced a major investment of more than Rs 100 crore to develop the AYUSH healthcare sector in the State of Nagaland on Friday, stated a press release.

One 30-bedded AYUSH hospital and three 10-bedded hospitals along with one Ayurvedic college will be developed in the State with the allocated funds.

An integrated AYUSH hospital was also inaugurated by the Union Minister at Razha Chedema in Kohima earlier in the day. The 30-bedded AYUSH hospital will be developed at Kihpire, while the 10-bedded AYUSH hospitals will be developed at Mokokchung, at Nagaland University in Dimapur and at Wokha. In order to give the higher education in AYUSH a fillip in the region, the Union Minister announced setting up of a state-of-the-art Ayurvedic college at Longleng. The cost of this college is estimated at Rs 70 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said, "The North-East has an immense potential to become the hub in the AYUSH sector. The beautiful State of Nagaland is no exception with a lot of potential to be tapped. With our rich traditional knowledge base in folk medicine and the bounty of flora that Mother Nature has blessed us with, it is important that we seize this opportunity. We can become the springboard for AYUSH sector in the country and create an ecosystem to provide health and wellness solutions for the people of India as well as our neighbouring countries. This will give us economic strength and our community will be blessed with a healing touch to treat human illness."

The Ministry of AYUSH has been making a sincere attempt to unlock the huge value that the rich bio-diverse region of the North-East possesses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision to unlock this potential to empower people of the North-East to become the driver of the new growth engine of India. The Prime Minister has directed the Government to commit and provide all the platforms for the North-East so that the region can seize its opportunity.

The AYUSH Minister - guided by this vision to enable the people of North-East - has provided a shot in the arm for the AYUSH sector in the region with an investment of Rs 172 crores in Nagaland and Mizoram put together. As many as 10 new AYUSH hospitals will be built in these two States and one Ayurvedic college will be built.

Speaking about the role of AYUSH in propelling growth and wellness in the region, Sonowal further added, "Our vision is to empower the rich Indian traditional medicinal practices - be it Ayurveda, Yoga, Unnani, Siddha, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy, Sowa Rigpa - with modern scientific validation for wider and popular usage by the people. Our folk medicines have been helpful in treating human civilization since time immemorial. It is important that they are preserved - using modern scientific approach and tools - so that they can be useful for generations to come. The holistic approach to patient care and healthy lifestyle includes both preventive as well as curative aspects. The AYUSH traditional medicinal practices have been traditionally taking care of both these aspects."

Talking about the steps taken to preserve and conserve the folk medicine in the region, the Union AYUSH Minister said, "In order to learn and leverage the folk medicine, the AYUSH ministry is conducting a multi-centric research project to critically appraise and validate Local Health Traditions (LHT), Oral health Traditions (OHT) and Ethno Medicinal Practices (EMP) among ethnic communities of the North-East."

The Minister of Health & Family Welfare of the Government of Nagaland, S Pangnyu Phom and Minister of Urban Development & Municipal Affairs of Government of Nagaland, Dr Niekiesalie Kire, along with senior officials of the Nagaland Government and AYUSH ministry, attended this meeting.

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