25-bedded AH started on make-shift basis
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Dec 6: The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will soon get its 1st Government Homeopathy Medical College in village Rakh Hoshyari in Kathua district as Union AYUSH Ministry has already approved a proposal in this connection and sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 70 crore for the same.
At present, J&K has two Ayush Medical Colleges under Government sector viz. Government Ayurvedic Medical College Akhnoor in Jammu division and Government Unani Medical College Ganderbal in Kashmir division, sanctioned by Ministry of AYUSH during the year 2009-10, and both these colleges are fully functional.
Homeopathy is also an equally important component of AYUSH systems of medicine and millions of people across the globe rely on Homeopathic system of medicine. However, so far there is no Homoeopathic college in Government or private sector in J&K and as a result, the interested students have no option but to move out of J&K for seeking admissions in different Homoeopathic Medical Colleges across the country.
The Homoeopathic system of medicine is in infancy stage in J&K as it was introduced in the public sector during 2007 under AYUSH Department with more than 500 Homoeopathic practitioners presently registered with the Board of Homeopathy in J&K. Therefore, the J&K AYUSH Department vigorously took up the project of Government Homeopathic Medical College with the Union AYUSH Ministry and got it approved on priority basis.
As per sources in AYUSH Department, the Homeopathy Medical College is being set up on a land measuring 57 kanals and 1 marla at village Rakh Hoshiyari in district Kathua at an approximate cost of Rs 70 crore. “Land has already been transferred in the name of Health & Medical Education Department J&K and the Directorate of AYUSH has taken possession of the same and floated tender for construction of compound wall on the land,” they added.
Sources further disclosed that AYUSH Ministry has also released Rs 1 crore as token money for initiating the project and of this amount, Rs 75 lakh has been released to PWD Kathua for construction of compound wall. They said simultaneously experts of AYUSH Department in consultation with Engineering wing is in the process of making DPR for the College building and hopefully, the foundation stone of this prestigious project will be laid in next 4-6 months after getting the DPR vetted from the concerned authorities.
Meanwhile, sources said the Associated Hospital (AH) of the proposed Government Homeopathic Medical College with 25 beds capacity has already been made operational on internal arrangement basis at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital (Main Bazar) Kathua, where the OPD services have been started by deploying faculty and other staff from the Directorate of AYUSH while the process is underway to start IPD services.
“The 1st batch of 25 BHMS students will also be started on make shift arrangement basis at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital Kathua from the academic session 2023-24 as all requisite formalities for obtaining the permission of same from Central Council of Homoeopathy have been fulfilled,” sources maintained, adding the Directorate of AYUSH has also started the process of creating posts of faculty, paramedics and other staff for the proposed Homeopathy Medical College.
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