Siddha practitioners in Kerala will soon urge Chennai based ‘Impcops’ to open one sales depot in Kozhikode |
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai Saturday, March 12, 2016, 08:00 Hrs [IST] |
To meet the increasing demand for Siddha
and Unani medicines in Kerala, especially in the northern part
(Malabar), the All Kerala Siddha Doctors’ Forum (AKSDF) along with Unani
physicians group will soon urge the Chennai based The Indian Medical
Practitioners Co-operative Pharmacy (Impcops) to open one sales depot in
the Malabar area.
It is viewed that there is immense demand for Siddha and Unani medicines in the northern part of the state, where a lot of practitioners of both the Ayush systems are practicing. Presently, the Ayush healthcare institutions and patients are depending on the state government owned Oushadhi for availing their medical requirements. The practitioners of Siddha feel that if one sales depot of Impcops is opened in Kozhikode, it would benefit the whole people of the entire Malabar area. “Among the 25 sales depots of Impcops operating in various parts of the country, one is in Thrivananthapuram, near to the Siddha hospital. Oushadhi also procures medicines from this depot for supplying to the Siddha hospital and dispensaries, and Unani institutions. Ninety per cent of the medicines from this depot is bought by Oushadi for Kerala’s domestic use. Medicines to the 28 institutions under the central project (NHM) are also supplied by Oushadhi. Whereas, the Central Siddha Research Council (CCRS) at Thrivananthapuram is directly buying medicines from this depot for their research work. For researches, medicines without containing preservatives have to be used. It is generally believed that Impcops do not add preservatives in medicines. That is why, they bring out ‘Kashaayam’ in powder form,” said Dr. Arun Baby, president of AKSDF. He said if one more depot is opened in Thrissur district, Oushadhi can reduce their risk in collecting and distributing medicines from Thrivananthapuram depot. The depot in the state capital is very much profit making and its turnover is increasing every year. The total revenue in the last fiscal was Rs. 1.5 crore, said Dr Arun, who is also one of the directors of the cooperative pharmacy. While explaining the scope for Siddha medicines in Kerala, he pointed out that the recent establishment of a Unani medical college in Kozhikodu will support the sale growth of the depot. Besides there are a lot of Unani doctors in Kozhikode, Wynadu and the nearby places. The members of the cooperative society will get 25 per cent discount for all medicines bought from Impcops. More than one thousand Ayurveda physicians from Kerala are Impcops members. Even though the request for starting another depot in Kerala is put to Impcops, the association of Siddha graduates will first approach the state government for all sorts of help and advice. AKSDF has the future plan that a Siddha medical college should be started in Kerala under cooperative sector and deliberations are going on among the Forum members now. To a question on acceptance on Siddha drugs in Kerala, he said even though the number of followers of Ayurveda is large in Kerala, the number of followers of Siddha system is increasing every day in the state. Similar case is with Unani also, he added. |
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