Ayush doctors seek Centre’s intervention

​Hyderabad: Ayush doctors, who have been deputed for Kanti Velugu (KV) programme have written to Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Union Minister of State Shripad Naik and also Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao about their plight. Because of this additional responsibility, Ayush doctors are unable to visit their dispensaries in various districts and as a result most of them are remaining closed. Telangana Ayush Medical Officers Association want allopathic doctors (ophthalmologists) be given for Kanti Velugu responsibilities duly relieving them.

According to the association, around 500 Ayush doctors (Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy, Naturopathy) were recruited on contract basis under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karaykram (RBSK) schemes of Centre in 2008 at a salary of Rs 25,000 per month. These doctors are working in villages and tribal areas and attending patients who prefer alternative form of medicine than allopathic treatment.

JC Prasad, president of Ayush doctors (working under NRHM) said their services were used earlier for special health camps, health camps in pilgrim centres, during Jataras, natural disasters, school health programmes. " All those programmes were held for a short time and hence Ayush services were not hit majorly. However, with Kanti Velugu likely to be held for six to nine months, Ayush services across the State will be hit severely if concerned doctors are continued in the ongoing eye-screening camps. Even 200 Ayush doctors from State government dispensaries are deployed affecting their regular work too," he said.

Villagers from Peddalingapur village from Rajanna-Sircilla district have declared their intentions to hold protest in front of Government Ayurveda Clinic in their village that has remained shut from August 15 onwards as the doctor was serving Kanti Velugu duties at another place.  P Balaraju, a local said that a good number of Peddalingapur villagers frequent the ayurveda clinic for knee joint pains, diabetes, ulcer etc. and now all of them were put to inconvenience. He said that villagers were unhappy and thinking of launching a protest in the coming days to ensure the dispensary functions like before.

This government dispensary was also most visited by people from neighbouring villages like Dacharam, Ramajipeta, Sirikonda, Anantharam for various treatments. M Das, a villager from Anantharam said that he regularly visits the dispensary for taking medicine for knee joint pains. With closure of dispensary for last two weeks, villagers, especially old-aged people are facing hardships.