NIMA decries legal action on ISM docs

Belagavi: Doctors practising the Indian System of Medicine (ISM) protested near the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (SVS) on Friday, urging the state government to issue directives to health department officials not to take any legal action against the ISM doctors in line with the interim order of the supreme court.
ISM practitioners protested under the banner of the National integrated medical association (NIMA), a 75-year-old national-level body representing ISM doctors. Protesters said ISM doctors are eligible to practice the integrated system of medicine.
They also demanded the government to fill up vacancies in primary health centres, district hospitals, ayurveda medical colleges, and other places of the health department at the earliest through the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).
Other demands of NIMA include appointing a regular registrar to the Karnataka ayurveda and unani practitioners’ board, which has been vacant since 2016, and the formation of an administrative board for the same.
In the interest of students, the state government should intervene and accelerate the process of counselling/ admission to ayurvedic colleges at the earliest, since ayurvedic medical colleges still haven't completed the admission process for 2022-23, although it's nearly the end of the year, the protesters said.