Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, December 10 2008:
MANIPUR UNIVERSITY is all set to host 'one day state level workshop cum training on traditional healing practices in north east India' on December 14 to promote relationship between traditional healers and scientists in general besides finding feasibility to create folk healers association block levels in the respective states.
Life Sciences department of the varsity is associating with North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine, (NIEFM) Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh to organize the workshop under the sponsorship of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, government of India.
According to Dr P Kumar, Organising Secretary said the gathering this time would be a unique and first of it's kind in bringing folk healer associations as well as the state level nodal institutions, academicians of Central varsities, research institutes and non-governmental organizations representatives working in health sectors.
"The focus will be imposed on the traditional healing practices and utilization by using advances technologies" Dr Kumar said.
Dr Kumar, associate professor of Manipur University's life science department had once headed a researchers team to find the scientific details of the then miracle herb of Saikot village in Churachandpur district which claimed to have cured cancer patients.
The workshop would discussed to establish a modern pharmacological research centre and a databse of folk health traditions in NIEFM, Pasighat for scientific validation of prioritized local health practices and documentation of folk healing traditions of the north east.
On the other hand with the objective of promoting medicinal plants, state's forest department has also all set to host a three-day International conclave on medicinal plants for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries at Imphal starting from December 11 onwards at the Jubilee Hall of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here.
Manipur has as many as 1200 medicinal plants species including 420 indigenous medicinal plants.