State to take steps to curb exploitation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the state government will initiate stringent steps to check exploitation in the health tourism sector. He also added emphasis was also being given to promote health tourism in the state. He said this while attending a seminar on ‘Infrastructure Development in AYUSH Based Health Tourism’ organised as part of the International AYUSH Conclave here.

“The state had immense opportunities in the health tourism sector. But it is yet to tap those opportunities to the full,” said Surendran.“It is welcoming tourists are arriving in good numbers for treatment in traditional medicine. However, it is a fact exploitation exists in the health tourism sector. It is high time to put an end to the same,” he said.

At the same time, attending the seminar, the stakeholders in the health tourism sector came out with the demand of setting up an Ayurveda university in the state with the focus on developing AYUSH-based health tourism. They also suggested establishing a wellness park, comprising botanical garden and museum and to ensure basic infrastructure facilities in the sector. They also observed Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha and Unani have been playing a great role in the health tourism sector.

The inaugural session was attended by Dr J N Srivastava of NHSRC, Kesavendra Kumar, state director, National AYUSH Mission, Dr Bhawna Gulati, associate professor, ASCI and others.

Day 4 AYUSH Conclave

On day four of the International AYUSH Conclave, a Farmers Meet and a Startup Conclave will be conducted. According to the organisers, the farmers meet will facilitate effective networking of stakeholders in the area of medicinal plant cultivation, commercialization, conservation and sustainable farming. During the meet presentations will be made on ‘Medicinal Plants Cultivation and Involvement of LSGD’, ‘An Introduction to Common Medicinal Plants of Kerala,’ ‘Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Medicinal Plants’ and the like. In the Startup Conclave KINFRA, general manager T Unnikrishnan, Startup Mission CEO Saji Gopinath and others will address the gathering.

Translational research can upgrade ayurveda

 T’Puram: On the third day of the International AYUSH Conclave, discussions were held on topics such as translational research in AYUSH, AYUSH-based drug development and AYUSH in the global perspective of health.  Attending a seminar on ‘Translational Research in Natural Medicine’, Dr K M Cherian, chairman, International Centre for Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Diseases, said the traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, can be upgraded to the international standard, through translational researches. He also added that the Ayurveda treatment method, which uses the medicinal value of around five thousand medicinal plants, has a prime status in modern medicine. In another talk delivered on ‘Translational Medicines - Leads from Ayurveda’, Dr Madan Thangavelu, a genome biologist at the Research Council for Complementary Medicine, Cambridge, said many of the treatment methods currently being experimented in the modern medicine were mentioned in the Upanishads and the Vedas years ago. He said the lifestyle diseases like diabetes and overweight could be treated effectively through Ayurveda and Yoga.