The State government is conserving and promoting the herbal wealth to make Himachal Pradesh as Herbal State of the country. This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh during the State level “Samman Samaroh’ organized by Ayurveda Medical Officers Association today at Tibetan Children Village (TCV) auditorium at Dharamsala.He said, “ Ayurvedic system of medicine had been well integrated into the National health care system paving the way for health rejuvenation and longevity, and in Himachal Pradesh the government had laid special emphasis to strengthen Ayurvedic system of medicine. He added that Rs. 203 crore were being spent for Ayurveda department during this fiscal.” Chief Minister said that Himachal was a treasure house of herbal and aromatic medicinal plants and herbs and the State was promoting the herbal wealth to provide a sustainable supply of raw material to the pharmaceutical industry. The herbal gardens at Jogindernagar in district Mandi, Neri in Hamirpur, Jangal Jhaelra in Bilaspur and Dhamrera in Shimla district were catering to the needs of the Ayurveda health institutions.
He said for procurement of the essential medicinal herbs, the Government of India had sanctioned a sum of rupees Rs 202 lakh . Singh said, “ besides two regional hospitals at Paprola and Shimla, as many as 1109 Ayurveda Health Centers were providing quality health services to the people of the State.We are committed to strengthen the infrastructure of these pharmacies besides equipping them with the latest technology”. He said that the retirement age of the professors in the Ayurvedic Medical College had been raised from 58 to 62 so that the students could gain from their vast experience and knowledge.
He said Ayurveda should percolate down to the remotest corners of the State for which doctors needs to work with honesty and dedication. He said that the system was well adopted in Kerela in India which besides providing treatment to the people also is a source of medicinal tourism. He said the exhaustible research and innovation in the field has given edge to Ayurveda in the western world too. According to one of the National Health Interview Survey more than three lakh people in the United States were using India’s traditional medicinal system and the Ayurveda is being now adopted as the alternate source of treatment in different corners of the world.