On Monday, September 11, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) extended their support to the Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) students who have been protesting since August 31, demanding more AYUSH hospitals and regularisation of jobs, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
Students have been protesting under the banner, All Odisha Ayush Students Association (AOASA).
State BJP Spokesperson Dilip Mohanty, with a delegation of party members, extended support.
Mohanty stated that Odisha has only 1,182 AYUSH health centres and nine hospitals. According to Ayushman Bharat, there needs to be at least one doctor for 5,000 people. The doctor-to-people ratio in Odisha is one per 40,000 people, he said.
The spokesperson also urged the government to fix the infrastructural issues of the seven AYUSH healthcare centres and establish at least one AYUSH health centre in each panchayat. This is to ensure that students who graduate from AYUSH colleges would be employed and people would receive better health services.
Recently, the students had garnered further support from the opposition in the state, with Dr Mukesh Mahaling, a Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Loisingha Constituency.
It may be recalled that protesting against the Government of Odisha's stalling when it comes to their demands, several AYUSH doctors took out a rally in February 2023.
