Closure of Arya Vaidya Sala poses major threat to survival of Kottakkal city

The Vaidya Sala and (inset) its founder P.S. Varier: a closure which threatens a city's survivalHad the British discovered it early enough, Kottakkal could well have been a flourishing hill resort. Perched precariously on the rolling hills of Mallapuram district in Kerala, Kottakkal (pop: 5,000) is today a sleepy, remote backwoods town. To a select few, however, Kottakkal is something of a medicinal Mecca - it is the site of one of the world's best-known ayurvedic institutions, the Arya Vaidya Sala.Last month, however, even that solitary claim to fame seemed to be teetering in the balance following an unprecedented strike by the institute's 1,000 workers. The strike, a labour-management clash over the "abolition" of the post of chief security officer, suspended all work in the institute, leaving hundreds of helpless patients stranded, some of whom had come all the way from London and the Middle East.More important, the closure of the Vaidya Sala has posed a major threat to the survival of Kottakkal itself. The institute is the life-blood of the city and all activity in Kottakkal revolves around it. In fact, if Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier, the founder, had decided 80 years ago to set up his Vaidya Sala elsewhere, Kottakkal would probably have been a ghost city by now. Before the strike paralysed life in the town, the institute's outpatient ward was treating an average 800 patients a day - patients who represented the economic life line of the city.Loss: The Arya Vaidya Sala - whose annual turnover is Rs 6 crore - has already lost Rs 30 lakh because of the strike. "This massive loss occurred because our products and medicines were being processed in our factory. So many perishable herbs, oils and mixtures were in the ovens and grinding stones when the strike intervened," said C. A. Varier, the diminutive office manager of the Vaidya Sala. The Vaidya Sala exports Rs 5 lakh worth of drugs to the Far East and Canada. Further, the 1,000 workers lose a combined pay packet of about Rs 50,000 every week.Varier is the only management representative holding on to the besieged fortress at Kottakkal. Though the strike has spread to all the seven branches of the Vaidya Sala in Kerala - Cannanore, Ernakulam, Alwaye, Palghat, Calicut Tirur and Trivandrum - the worst hit is Kottakkal. Bemoaned Narayanan, a shop-owner: "Our survival is linked to the workers' pay and the people who come here for treatment. At this rate, we will all have to close shop and seek our fortunes elsewhere."But perhaps the real sufferers are the patients who have pinned their hopes on this institution for survival. They expressed their anger and frustation in no uncertain terms. accusing the labour unions of "gross dereliction of duty" and "torturing the bedridden patients". Dr Patnaik - a surgeon from the Charing Cross Hospital of London - had come to Kottakkal on hard-earned leave to set right a 'frozen' shoulder. A dejected Patnaik had to return to London when his attempt to dissuade the striking workers had failed. Other frustrated patients included 59-year-old Tekchand Luthra of Bombay on his fifth trip to Kottakkal, S. Mulgaokar editor of the Indian Express and Mrs Prakash Mehra, a widow suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis. Said a forlorn Mrs Mehra: "This is the only place in the world where genuine ayurveda is practised and I came here to be treated, not to get shunted around like a piece of baggage."The Issue: The strike was precipitated when the management terminated the services of K.R. Varier - the chief security officer who was drawing a salary of Rs 1,000 per month. But in a remarkable show of solidarity, the Joint Action Council of the nine unions that control the 1,000 workers demanded his immediate reinstatement. "The management has no right to hire and fire people arbitrarily," said P. V. Balakrishnan Nambiar, the balding general secretary of the Worker's Federation. The management contends that it was no dismissal, only an 'abolition' of the post of chief security officer. "We have lost confidence in him. He is very mean and has no standard for such a job," said Raghava Varier, the assistant general manager of the Vaidya Sala. Paradoxically, there are no other issues at stake. Most workers have been with the institution for 10-15 years and all seem content with their pay and working conditions.The district collector of Mallapuram had at a meeting requested the management to take back K.R. Varier in some other capacity. But the request was rejected on the grounds that it would "establish a precedent."While the stalemate continues, there are increasing fears that the management is seriously considering shifting the drugs production unit - and perhaps the headquarters as well - to Bangalore. "We can always start another unit at Bangalore; it does not necessarily mean we wind up the show at Kottakkal," said Varier. However, whatever the authenticity of these reports, it is the sleepy village of Kottakkal and Kerala who will ultimately be the losers.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 23, 2013 13:40 IST--- ENDS ---

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Closure of Arya Vaidya Sala poses major threat to survival of Kottakkal city

Before the strike paralysed life in the town, the institute's outpatient ward was treating an average 800 patients a day - patients who represented the economic life line of the city.

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