With the Uttarakhand government’s decision to enable ayurvedic practitioners to prescribe certain allopathy drugs to patients in times of emergency, the dispute between Ayurveda and allopathy has taken a new turn.
State Ayush Minister Harak Singh Rawat announced on the sidelines a programme to commemorate the International Day for Yoga at the Uttarakhand Ayurvedic University in Dehradun on Monday. He said the decision was made for the benefit of people living in the state’s remote hill areas, where primary health centers are dominated by ayurvedic doctors. According to him, Uttarakhand has roughly 800 ayurvedic doctors and as many ayurvedic dispensaries, with 90% of them located in isolated highland areas.
The decision, which would necessitate amendments to the Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Chikitsa Adhiniyam, will benefit those living in disaster-prone hill areas who lack access to proper healthcare, according to the minister.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) of Uttarakhand, on the other hand, has slammed the announcement, calling it “illegal.” Ajay Khanna, Secretary of the Uttarakhand IMA, said, “It is prohibited and falls under the category of mixopathy. In an emergency, mixopathy will only injure people.
The Supreme Court and the lower courts have made this apparent.
Ayurvedic doctors are not permitted to practise allopathy since they lack the necessary qualifications “he stated JN Nautiyal, speaking about the IMA’s reaction to the announcement, said, “The IMA has two sets of rules.
Ayush doctors work in hospitals’ ICUs and emergency rooms. That is not a problem for the IMA. However, they suddenly have an issue with anything that could help such a vast number of people in the hills.”
Last month, yoga guru Ramdev questioned the efficiency of allopathy pharmaceuticals in the treatment of COVID-19, causing the IMA’s Uttarakhand chapter to issue a defamation notice and demand compensation of Rs 1,000 crore from him.
“How can Ayurveda doctors prescribe allopathy drugs if they don’t understand it?” Mr. Khanna questioned.
However, JN Nautiyal, Vice President of Bharatiya Chikitsa Parishad, Uttarakhand, and a senior physician, praised the decision, claiming that it will benefit 80 percent of the state’s population, who are lacking access to healthcare.
