A week-long exhibition focusing on the holistic nature of the Ayurveda system of medicine has commenced at the Government Ayurveda College here.
The exhibition that began on Wednesday is organised as part the 125th anniversary of the college. Around 300 herbs such as Dasapushpam, a medicinal plant for treatment of bronchitis, and Somalatha, prescribed for psychiatric cure, are exhibited.
Stalls have been put up by the eleven departments of the college highlight their work, commercial wing, drug standardization unit, drug testing laboratory, publication division and the pharmacognosy unit. The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Sidha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) has opened special clinics to offer free medical care.
C. Regunathan Nair, Department of Salyatantra, said the exhibition was held with the objective of creating awareness among the people of Ayurveda, its basic principles and relevance in the present era. “The expo aims at imparting scientific awareness, cultivation and propagation of medicinal plants and giving drug manufacturing guidance,” he said
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who inaugurated the exhibition, said the government was aware of the growing acceptance of Ayurveda, even internationally, and was working out a strategy to promote the stream. He promised to set up AYUSH in Kerala at the earliest.
