Unani doctors demand better recognition

Chennai: TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Demanding that the state plug the vacuum between education and employment opportunities in Unani medicine, nearly 150 Unani practitioners gathered at the Government Unani Medical College at Arumbakkam on Monday to stage a protest.

 

The protest was initiated by the Southern Unani Medical Association, which laid out various demands, the most pivotal of which was giving better recognition to the practice. They alleged that unlike college graduates of other natural medicine courses like Siddha, students of Unani did not have the option of pursuing a master's degree in any government institution in Tamil Nadu.

“It has been 40 years since the Unani course was established here. But till date, there is no PG degree or sufficient avenues for employment in government medical establishments. We are seeing a lot of developments in our field lately, and the demand has increased among the middle class and upper middle class demography who are trying natural medicine options.But if it has to reach all strata of society , the government should ensure that Unani practitioners are hired in government establishments as well,“ said D Shahjahan, general secretary of the association, adding that every Taluk hospital in the state should hire Unani practitioners. They also demanded that for representation to the state government, an officer in the capacity of a joint director should be appointed.
The protesters, who were all alumni of the Government Unani college in the city, sent a draft of their demands to health secretary J Radhakrishnan, health minister C Vijayabaskar and chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.