PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday inaugurated the four-day World Ayurveda Congress but took the opportunity to sell Goa as a potential 'wellness tourism' destination citing the All India Institute of Ayurveda at Dhargalim as the catalyst.
Himself an Ayurveda 'vaidya', Sawant said the satellite centre at Dhargalim will boost tourism in the State even as he said that his government will work towards making Goa a "prominent destination" for wellness tourism.
Sawant was speaking at the inaugural event of the 9th World Ayurveda Congress & Arogya Expo 2022, for which thousands of delegates have registered, including foreign Ayurveda professionals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the valedictory function on Sunday.
Sawant, speaking further said every government hospital in Goa will be equipped with an Ayurveda department. He also lauded the Centre's move to introduce 'AYUSH visa' for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy treatment in India, calling it a historic decision.
Organisers said, 4,500 participants, including 400 delegates from 53 countries are registered to participate in the WAC. Leading Ayurveda brands, medicine manufacturers and Ayurveda related educational and research institutions have stalls at the venue.
Over a hundred peer reviewed research papers related to Ayurveda from across the world are set to be presented during the deliberations at the Congress.
Meanwhile, AYUSH Ministry Secretary, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, claimed at the event that a study had found that 89.9 per cent of the Indian population used Ayush modalities during Covid as profile excess, treatment or prevention.
“14.2 million sample size was taken, which is more than 1 per cent of the total population. This shows how much undercurrent is there in our country for AYUSH,” Kotecha said.
Union Minister of State for Ayush, Shripad Naik, Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane and Culture Minister Govind Gaude were among the dignitaries on the dais at the event.
This is the ninth edition of the World Ayurveda Congress and is being officially attended for the first time by officials of the United Nation’s World Health Organization.
