New Delhi: Meghalaya Health Minister AL Hek has stressed on development of traditional system of medicine and treatment in the Hill State.
“People associated with the traditional system of treatment claim that they can cure gastritis, liver diseases, diabetes, paralysis, gall bladder stones, arthritis, fracture, rheumatism, asthma, low and high blood pressure, burns, cancer and other illnesses,” Hek said.
According to a report of a state-level committee, Meghalaya has 850 species of medicinal plants. “Out of that 377 are used by 70 to 80 per cent of the state’s population for primary healthcare needs,” Hek said while speaking at the 6th World Ayurveda Congress at New Delhi on Saturday.
“This traditional system of treatment will become extinct if it is not preserved and developed with right unrest,” he said.
According to traditional healers ignorance on the part of the people can also lead to the extinction of priceless herbs used for making medicines to cure various illnesses, he added.
Earlier, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan urged young scientists and researchers to take up the challenge of making Ayurveda acceptable to the modern world and re-establish its rightful status as a system that can bring affordable healthcare to people’s doorsteps.
