Kirtipur, August 24:

Minister for Education and Sports Pradeep Nepal today underscored the importance of research in ayurveda to promote the alternative medication practice in Nepal.

Inaugurating the three-day Ayur Expo 2007 organised by the Nepal Ayurveda Medical Students’ Society (NAMSS) on the premises of the Ayurveda Campus, Nepal said that a lot of work needs to be done in the field of ayurveda.

“A lot of Nepalis are unaware about the medicinal properties of the herbs they find around them. So, a creating awareness about the medicinal properties of the herbs is the responsibility of the ayurveda experts and teachers.”

He also said that the experts themselves should work harder to transform herbs into useful medicines. “We should manage everything necessary for the study of ayurveda, research and marketing of the products,” he added.

Dr Ramesh Kant Adhikari, dean of Institute of Medicine, said: “Ayurveda is gradually developing and we should seriously work towards this end to benefit the people.”

Lack of physical infrastructure, human resources and equipment and opportunity for higher studies in Nepal are the major problems facing the development of ayurveda, said Dhanik Lal Bharkher, chief of Ayurved Campus.