23 students held for dharna at Unani Hospital, Charminar

Tension prevailed at the Government Nizamia Tibbi College at Charminar on Wednesday when students belonging to the Dr BRKR Government Ayurveda College staged a dharna protesting the move to shift the Ayurveda Hospital.

The Ayush department had recently issued an order asking the Ayurveda Hospital functioning at Charminar for the last several years to keep only 15 beds and shift the remaining infrastructure to Erragadda where the college is running.

The Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) had recently derecognised Al Arif Unani Medical College, Bandlaguda run by Al Azizia Educational and Welfare Society for deficiency in infrastructure and faculty, and shifted around 300 students pursuing their Unani medicine course in the college to the Nizamia Tibbi College. 

Following this, the Unani College which was already facing issues of accommodation requested the Ayush authorities to vacate the Ayurveda



Hospital.

Trouble began on Tuesday when students of the Unani College reportedly damaged some furniture of the Ayurveda Hospital resulting in tension. On Wednesday VS Alagu Varsini, Incharge Director AYUSH reached the spot to enquire into the incident. However, when she was about to leave, students from the BRKR College along with BJP workers blocked her car. The police picked up 23 students and BJP workers and shifted them to the Moghalpura police station.

The controversy only got thicker when a policeman in mufti was accused of pinching and touching inappropriately a protesting medico. A few people who recorded the act using mobile phones uploaded it on social media. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Amber Kishore Jha said they were verifying the video and that a probe would be conducted.

Meanwhile the Moghalpura police registered a case against students who damaged furniture at the Ayurveda hospital.