AYUSH Ministry announces major initiatives in northeast region

The Union Minister for AYUSH and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, has announced major initiatives to boost the traditional medicinal practice including Sowa Rigpa, Ayurveda and Naturopathy in Sikkim. The minister was attending the National Workshop on Sowa Rigpa – the traditional and ancient medicinal practice of Himalyanan people in Sikkim.

He also announced that an International Yoga and Naturopathy College will be set up in Sikkim which will boost the medical tourism sector in the Northeast India. Underlying the importance of Sowa Rigpa and its further exposure among people for enriching their quality of life, a 30-bedded Sowa Rigpa hospital is going to be set up in Sikkim.

Furthering the AYUSH initiatives in the northeast region, Sonowal announced setting up of Yoga and Wellness centre at every gram panchayat level in the state along with an Ayurveda Medical College under Satellite Institute programme in Sikkim. Highlighting the importance of AYUSH-based growth in the region, the minister also said that the ministry is exploring the possibility to set up a research council for Sowa Rigpa.

The minister, along with other dignitaries, virtually inaugurated the Sowa Rigpa College Building at NIT in Deorali, Gangtok.

Speaking further about the role of AYUSH in the northeast, Sonowal said, “Ayurveda and Yoga has given a tremendous fillip to the stature of India at the global stage. We are confident that other traditional Indian medicinal practices will further embolden this achievement of India. Our great nation – India – has been known to heal both health and spirit since time immemorial. Northeast is the new engine of growth for India. Our rich flora can help rejuvenate the AYUSH-based growth  in the region. We are taking steps to create a platform for the tremendous potential that AYUSH has in northeast India. We are confident that Sikkim and all of the northeast will seize this opportunity and become major stakeholders in unlocking the economic potential.”

Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister, Sikkim, said, “The practitioners of traditional medicine have substantial knowledge of herbs and their effect on healing organically. Sowa Rigpa is one of the oldest and well-documented medicinal traditions of the world. The people of the Himalayan region have been using this since time immemorial and its prevalence in treating and healing is still strong among this region as well as in Sikkim.”