the goan I network
MARGAO
Union Ayush Minister Shripad Naik on Saturday exuded confidence that Goa will become the most preferred medical tourism destination in the country once the host of projects, including the All India Ayush Institute, besides the two 50-bedded hospitals and around 100 health wellness centres become a reality within the next two years
“Goa will overtake Kerala and become a hub of Indian system of medicines, including ayurveda, homeopathy and naturopathy once the All India Ayush Institute on the lines of Delhi AIIMS hospital and the two 50-bedded hospitals take shape in the next two years,” Shripad said after laying the foundation stone for a 50-bedded Ayush hospital at Monte Hill at the T B Sanatorium complex.
Referring to Margao MLA Digambar Kamat’s plea to make Goa an Ayush hub with a small state like Kerala making rapid strides in the Indian system of medicine and is now promoted on the world map as medical tourism destination state, the Union Ayush Minister said the centre and the state government has laid the foundation for Ayush institutes, hospitals and wellness centres to take deep roots.
“Once these centres see light of the day, Goa will become the first preferred medical tourism state in the country,” he said, while underlining the need to take ayurveda, homeopathy and naturopathy to the people.
Asserting that yoga and ayurveda have now spread across the world, Shripad said the Centre will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 12 countries, including USA, to take Indian system of medicine to these countries.
In his address, South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar said that eco-tourism in Goa can receive a major boost if yoga and naturopathy are taken to the State’s hinterland. He stressed on the need to hold short term courses in massaging so that the needs of tourists, who are looking for Indian system of medicine, are fulfilled. “If we hold short-term courses in massaging and in yoga and naturopathy, it will not only give a boost for eco-tourism in the State’s hinterland, but provide employment for the local youth,” Sawaikar said.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat requested the Union Ayush Minister to explore the possibility of getting a big Ayush project in Goa which will help the state to emerge as a medical tourism destination. “Kerala, being a small state, has given huge stress on Ayush. We in Goa can take a call on this system of medicine and make the state a medical tourism destination state,” he added.
The Rs 9-crore 50-bedded Ayush hospital will be housed in a ground-plus one storied building inside the T B Sanatorium complex. Work on the project will commence after the Lok Sabha elections and is expected to be completed within a year and half.
