Odisha: Berhampur Ayurveda College hopeful of admission consent

Berhampur: A Central Council of Indian Medicine’s(CCIM) three member team made a two day visit to the government run Kaviraj Ananta Tripathy Sharma (KATS) Ayurved Mahavidyalaya at Ankushapur near here to inspect the infrastructure facilities of the college.

Subrat Das Adhikari, Sidheswar Sathua, and ATS Chauhan were members of the team, official sources said.
The Department of Ayush under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will grant permission to the college to conduct admissions to the first year of Bachelor in Ayurved Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) course for 2017-18 session on the basis of the team’s report.

The Department of Ayush had earlier not granted the college permission to conduct admissions to the five and a half years BAMS course in 2008,2011 and 2015, due to the negative reports filed by the CCIM.

However, the state intervention and assurance to the CCIM that it would fulfil both the infra structural needs and shortage of faculty appointments in the college, helped the college in being granted admission permission towards the end of last year.

While re-visiting the college the team made enquiries about the number of teaching and non-teaching staff, checked laboratory facilities, inspected infrastructural and hostel facilities ,and inflow of patients to the hospital

"We apprised the team of the existing infrastructure facilities. The team seemed satisfied with the availability of infrastructure," said college principal

The college has four professors and nine readers, at present, as against the sanctioned number of five and 14 respectively. Likewise the college has eight lecturers and 12 medical officers on deputation.

Meanwhile, Director, Ayush state government, Gopabandhu Satapathy, who visited the college on Friday, assured to address the shortage of staff in the college.

According to senior professor, A N Padhi, the infrastructure facilities in the college got a boost with construction of a boys hostel, opening of departments like rasa shastra (pharmacy) and drabyaguna (medicinal plant), construction of the top floors of the administrative building and the out-patient department (OPD) being extended four months ago.

Rs. 2.97 crores has also been sanctioned for a 100-seater girls’ hostel, added Prof. Padhi.The college site has been finalized, the professor told the TOI.