Protesting Ayush doctors seek equality with allopathy docs

Over 200 doctors from the Karnataka Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (Ayush) Medical Officers' Welfare Forum are protesting against the alleged discrimination between allopathy doctors and Ayush doctors.
The protestors, who have been camping at Freedom Park since Sunday morning, have put forward 22 demands, emphasising treatment on parity with allopathy doctors.
Renamed in 2003 from Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy, the department was established in order to encourage education, research and development and to popularise the use of the Ayush system. "Ayush system of medicines focus not only on the curative aspect, but also the general health and try to prevent a disease before it occurs," said Dr Sangamesh Thallevad, president of the welfare association. "Even though it is popular, especially among the rural population, affordable and is prepared locally using available resources, we are still discriminated against," he said.
The demands put forth by the association, emphasises equality between the two areas of medicine. "Where an allopathy doctor gets upto `32,000 as salary, an Ayush doctor of the same level does not even get half of that. We want to be treated the same as allopathy doctors and be given the same facilities as them, including salary and other facilities," he said.
Some of the demands include the creation of the post of Ayush medical officer in the department of health and family welfare, medico-legal rights to conduct post-mortems and issue medical certificates, making discrimination against doctors a punishable offence under the law, consideration of doctors to state awards and prizes, supply of quality products in pharmacies, recognise services done while on contract, when the doctor is made permanent and promotion of Ayush medicine and practice and the benefits of these at the taluk, district and state levels.