Ayurveda reaches North

HEALTHCARE: The Alchemist group plans an Ayurveda village near Chandigarh.

To cure the growing stress and lifestyle disorders affecting affluent urban Indians, the Chandigarh-based Alchemist group has decided to set up a 10-acre Ayurveda village near Panchkula.

Such centres of healing are present in South India, especially Kerala, but there are none in the North. The centre will be ready in about a year’s time.

The Alchemist group is no stranger to healthcare. Apart from poultry farming and restaurants that specialise in chicken preparations and real estate, it also has a presence in drugs and hospitals.

Ivaturi Ramakrishna, director (Ayurveda programme) at the Alchemist Ayurveda Centre, says that the village will have a research institute, a training centre and special cottages for specific treatments. The college will offer a Bachelor’s degree in Ayurvedic Medical Science) and will be affiliated to a university , either in Punjab or Haryana.

This will address the biggest challenge Ayurveda faces in the country today — lack of trained doctors. Experts say most Ayurveda doctors prefer to practise allopathic modern medicine as the rewards are better. As they set up shop in small towns and villages, they are able to get away with the malpractice.

Alchemist has already commenced the cultivation of essential rare herbs under the supervision of experts in an area of about 40 acres in Yamunanagar district, Haryana. The group has set up a unit in Panchkula to process the herbs, where trials are under process.

According to Ramakrishna, medicated honey for weight reduction, instant food for diabetes mellitus as well as natural herbal medicines for joint pains, male and female vitalities, skin diseases, natural cosmetic products and diabetes will all be prepared in-house.

“There is demand for such products in the global market so we are also contemplating exports of these herbal products,” says Ramakrishna, former principal and professor at the AL Government Ayurvedic College, Warangal.

Apart from well-to-do Indians, the group also hopes to draw international visitors to the village. The location of the village, on the Shivalik foothills, is expected to draw more visitors.

Ramakrishna says that unlike allopathic healthcare centres, an Ayurvedic village is less capital-intensive and has better profit margins.