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The mountainous Edamalakkudy, 25 km from the hill resort of Munnar in Kerala’s Idukki district, is the remotest village panchayat in Kerala.
The nearest road-head is 13 km away and one has to trek up the mountain paths for several hours to reach the village, the abode of the Muthuvan tribal community. The village can also be accessed from the other side of the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, from Valparai.
The healthcare system in the village consists mainly of herbs, tribal rituals and occasional supplies of modern medicine. Women are kept out of the home during their menstrual periods and are forced to live on the edge of the jungle for three or five days each month. Childbirth is the toughest part of a woman’s life as the mother and the newborn have to live alone in a jungle hut for 40 days before they are allowed back home.
To shore up the healthcare, the Kerala government is now going to set up an ayurveda dispensary at Edamalakkudy. On Monday, the State Cabinet decided to open four dispensaries in four remote panchayats, including Edamalakkudy, as part of the government’s initiative to take ayurveda to all corners of the State. Last week, the government had decided to open dispensaries in 25 village panchayat.
With Monday’s decision, all the 978 village panchayats will have a government ayurveda clinic. “Kerala has become a `total ayurveda’ State,” Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said.
“With the government going to open four more dispensaries, all the panchayats as well as all the muncipalities and city corporations will have ayurveda medical care facilities in the government sector,” Anitha Jacob, director of Indian Systems of Medicine, told Business Line. She noted that some of the panchayats had National Rural Health Mission-supported temporary dispensaries while others had permanent ones. Access to ayurvedic treatment and medicines was now available anywhere in the State.
Kerala also has a large network of private-sector ayurvedic institutions. Many of them, such as Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala, are highly reputed. In the recent times, many specialized facilities – for example, for eye care – have come up. Kerala Tourism has been promoting ayurvedic body-rejuvenation treatment and massages as part of Kreala’s attractions. Private tour operators market their packages by chipping in an ayurveda body care session.
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