To reach the Gattigunda pri mary health centre (PHC) near the Tamil Nadu border, Dr Vani MS, 33, leaves home at 7.30am every day. The PHC in a remote area of Kanakapura caters to over 12,000 people of more than five villages.. The ayurveda doctor changes three buses to get to the village, 90km from her house in south Bengaluru. "If I miss the only bus to the village, I have to take my two-wheeler and ride through forest area," she said referring to her routine for the past eight years. It's a bigger challenge when she reaches Gattigunda: Vani has to treat 60-70 patients a day in a PHC that stocks only allopathic medicine. TOI found a similar scenario in several PHCs across the state: Ayush practitioners who work in harsh conditions. The initial plan under the National Rural Health Mission in 2005 was to give rural people an option of ayurveda, homeopathy and other traditional medicines along with allopathy. Slowly, due to a dearth of MBBS graduates willing to work in rural areas, the government had Ayush doctors manage PHCs. @http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Their-own-future-on-ventilator-Ayush-doctors-keep-PHCs-alive/articleshow/48139076.cms

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