Shillong: The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal launched multiple projects to scale up capacity at the North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy (NEIAH) at its campus in Mawdiangdiang in Shillong on Friday.
The Ayush Minister inaugurated the Guest House and laid foundation stones for the Administrative Building and Pharmacy Building, as well as the Boundary wall with Periphery Road complete with external electrification including entry & exit gates.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “With the scaling up of capacity at NEIAH, we have a unique opportunity to learn, collaborate and build on strengths as we strive to establish proof for each formulation of traditional medicine with scientific evidence. It is a moment of great realization that the institute has already trained nearly one thousand experts in Ayurveda and Homoeopathy put together. This has greatly bolstered the healthcare delivery system in the region, especially in Meghalaya, as we move closer to realise the vision of our dynamic Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji of a Swastha Bharat. This new brigade of physicians, armed with evidence-based formulations of the Ayush system of medicine, will help people to avail benefits. They are closer to our age-old home remedies prevalent among local societies for thousands of years, but now with a wider array of scientifically proven patient care solutions to treat as many diseases. Heal in India, healed by India is the objective of the resurgent movement of Ayush.”
The newly inaugurated Guest House has a total area of 1780.56 SqM to provide accommodation and conference facilities. The eco-friendly building is complete with all modern amenities. The upcoming Administrative Building of NEIAH, with a floor area of 3160 SqM, will have one building (G+3) with two floors basement, including a multi purpose hall. The estimated cost of this building is pegged at ₹27.30 crores. The pharmacy building will be built with an investment of ₹15.33 crores for a G+3 building with 1833 SqM. The boundary wall with Periphery Road with external electrification including Entry/Exit Gate is being built at an estimated cost of ₹12.72 crores.
Adding further, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The Narendra Modiji government intends to enable and empower our tribal healing practices to move beyond their historic communities and boundaries and help humanity to live an enriched quality of life and devolve commercial opportunities for the region. While infrastructure and other physical structures are important for superior results in research & development, the new capacity scale-up at NEIAH will bolster the resurgence of traditional medicine under the inspiring leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji.
The government remains committed to build capacity of NEIAH so that it becomes a cradle of the top human resource institution of Ayush in the country. In the last one year, the Modi government has invested more than ₹145 crores to scale up capacity at NEIAH. The total project outlay for capacity expansion at NEIAH is ₹217.02 crores.”
The Ayush Minister also announced that Peripheral OPD services will be started at Smit, East Khasi Hills district which will potentially be accessed by 40,000 people living in 20 villages.
The minister also informed that NEIAH has started Swarnabindu Prashan Sanskar (Ayurvedic Immunno Modulation in Children) at its Ayurveda Hospital. With this programme, the government is helping patients with Ayurvedic solutions to treat Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) among tribal females between 18 and 45 years in Mawpat and Mylliem Block of East Khasi Hills district under the AYURSWASTHYA Yojana. NEIAH has been particularly helping patients with interventions like Panchakarma, Ksharasutra, Uttarabasti and Yoga to improve their quality of life. As more and more students are trained in these techniques, including via specialized Panchakarma Technician programme, we expect the Ayush system of medicine to become more popular, and widely available with deep healthcare benefits.
