Dhanteras will be celebrated with pomp in medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh, said a minister (File)
All medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh will perform the puja of God Dhanvantari (Lord of health) on Dhanteras, which is part of the Diwali festival, state Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said on Tuesday. Notably, the Hindi version of MBBS coursebooks was launched in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.
Dhanteras will be celebrated with pomp in medical colleges in the state every year on the lines of the Ganpati festival, Mr Sarang said. He said the objective behind organising Dhanvantari puja in medical colleges is to make Madhya Pradesh a healthy state.
“By worshipping Bhagwan Dhanvantari, we pray for the good health of ours and others. On Dhanteras (which falls on October 22 this year), all medical colleges in the state will worship God Dhanvantari by organising a programme. All doctors, students and attendants of patients will participate and pray for the good health of all," Mr Sarang told reporters.
He said God Dhanvantari is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu according to Hindu beliefs.
Mr Sarang said the festival of Dhanteras will be celebrated every year in medical colleges with pomp on the lines of the Ganpati festival.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday released three textbooks of the first-year MBBS course in Hindi, a first in the country. The launch was part of an ambitious project of the Madhya Pradesh government to impart medical education in the Hindi language.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had remarked in a lighter vein that doctors may write 'Shri Hari' on top of prescription slips in place of Rx (a symbol derived from a Latin word) and then write the list of medicines etc in Hindi.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)