37 foreigners, 39,000 Goans take treatment at the AIIA in less than a year
MAPUSA
It may be a trickle but Goans are slowly but surely getting attracted towards alternative medicine and the rush to the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) at Dhargal has a story to tell.
Patients are seen making a beeline to the various OPDs available at the sprawling campus of the ayurveda institute. A total of 50,799 patients have taken treatment at the AIIA, Dhargal till October this year out of which 39,233 are Goans, according to information sourced through Right to Information.
People from across the border, mainly from Maharashtra, also visit the institute for treatment. So far 37 foreigners have taken treatment at the AIIA which includes citizens from Russia, Italy, UK, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Finland, Ukraine and Nepal.
The AIIA at Dhargal, Goa was inaugurated on December 11 last year under the aegis of the Ministry of Ayush, GOI. The Ayush institute at Dhargal offers the facilities of out patient department (OPD), in-patient department (IPD), panchakarma (detoxification), minor OT, para-surgical unit (agnikarma, jalaukavacharana, cupping, shiravedh), kriya-kalpa, speech therapy, suvarna prashan, yoga and garbha sanskar.
Besides, the following treatment/OPDs are also available at the centre: kayachikista - cardio-respiratory, diabetic/metabolic disorder, general/agad tantra/skin, jara (geriatrics), critical care, panchakarma, shalakya (ENT & opthalm), streeroga & prasutitantra (obstetrics & gynaecology), antenatal care, bal-rog (paediatrics), shalya (surgery) and swathvrit (preventive and social medicine).
The AIIA also carries out surgeries for fistulectomy (ksharsutra), hemorrhoidectomy, wart removal, nail removal, mole excision, I&D, sebaceous cyst excision, streeroga & prasutitantra (obstetrics & gynaecology), D &C and bartholin cyst (marsupialisation). Diagnostic facilities such as laboratory investigations, ECG and X-Ray are also available at the institute.
A resident of Mapusa, Arjun Naik gave thumbs up to the treatment offered at the Dhargal institute. “My seven-year-old son had an acute allergy problem which could not be resolved through allopathy for quite some time. From the time we have taken him to the AIIA there has been marked improvement on his allergy problem,” Naik said.
Similarly, for Dattanand Pednekar of Marcel the treatment offered at the Dhargal institute has had a positive impact on his aged parents. “My parents were having this problem of chronic cold which would not subside through the allopathy medications. The line of treatment given at the ayurveda institute has started having a positive impact on them,” Pednekar said.
While 9,121 patients have taken the popular panchakarma treatment at the institute, five cancer patients have also taken treatment at the AIIA in the last 10 months. At present the AIIA has a total of 208 staff which includes 159 Goans.
The institute also offers the BAMS (bachelor of ayurvedic medicine and surgery) course with a student capacity of 100 out of which 50 percent is reserved for Goa and the balance for all India.
