Yoga practitioners to be registered in J&K

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 15: Jammu and Kashmir Ayurvedic and Unani Practitioners Act, 1959 is being amended by the Government to bring it at par with the Central Act.
A bill in this regard was introduced by the Minister for Health and Medical Education Bali Bhagat in the Legislative Assembly today.
Specifying the reasons behind this move, the Minister said that some provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Ayurvedic and Unani Practitioners Act, 1959 are inconsistent with the Central Act and have thus become obsolete. “Therefore, it is imperative that the State Act be brought at par with the Central Act”, he added.
“There is no provision for establishment of an Ayurvedic/Unani Institution in the principal Act nor any provision for conduct of examination of institutions affiliated to the Board and procedure to be adopted for recognition of institutions and examinations and de-recognition”, the Minister said while justifying the reasons behind amendments proposed in some sections of the Act.
He informed the House that the punishment for any person practicing without being registered under the Act or pretending falsely to be registered practitioner is merely Rs 200 as such has encouraged quackery. “The punishment needs to be deterrent to impose curbs on violation. Therefore, proportionate and condign punishment has been proposed”, the Minister added.
Stating that at present there is no law regulating the practice of Yoga system of treatment in the State, he said, “there have been repeated requests from the practitioners of Yoga system to give them statutory recognition”, adding “in order to curb quackery it is considered necessary to regulate the practice of Yoga practitioners and to provide for registration of persons practicing Yoga system”.
Pointing towards Sub-Section 6 (2) of the J&K Ayurvedic and Unani Practitioners Act, 1959, he said, “the Board of J&K Ayurvedic and Unani was constituted in the year 1995 and no elections could be held for 20 years for one reason or the other and such gaps are required to be plugged so that elections are held within reasonable time”, adding “Sub-Section 2 of Section 6 is required to be amended so that elections to the Board shall be held immediately after expiry of prescribed term or at the most within three months”.

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