Work on ayurveda and yoga institute to begin in October

PANAJI: Over two years after it was first announced that Goa would get a national institute of ayurveda and naturopathy, Union minister for Ayush Shripad Naik said land at

Dhargalim

in Pernem for the project has been handed over by the state government to the ministry on Wednesday.

He said work on construction of the project will begin by October and the institute will be known as the National Institute of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy.

“The land has been handed over to the

Ayush

ministry and we will float the tender within a month. Around October we will lay the foundation stone for the project,” Naik said.

The project is estimated to be worth around Rs500 crore and will be spread over approximately 56 acres of land. The project was first announced in 2015, along with two ayurveda and naturopathy hospitals, one in Sakhali in North Goa and the other in Margao in South Goa. The central government has already sanctioned Rs42 crore to the ministry of Ayush for projects in Goa, but the national institute will be the first one to see any progress since the three projects were announced in 2015.

In May, Naik had said due to chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s illness there had been a delay in handing over land for the institute. “The handing over of the land in Dhargalim on Wednesday has taken place in the presence of officials of the Ayush ministry and those from the directorate of health services in Goa,” Naik said.