Only two MMR homeopaths among 10 cleared to practise modern medicine

Neha Pawar, a homeopath from Mankhurd, received her Maharashtra Medical Council registration on August 3 after completing the one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology. She and Mayuresh Kamble of Badlapur East are the only two practitioners in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region among 10 homeopaths statewide now permitted to practise modern medicine.

Pawar’s former clinic in Ambedkar Nagar, Mankhurd, has been shut for the past year and is now occupied by a driving school. She said the closure was for personal reasons and that she had no immediate plans to resume practice.

Residents in the area often turn to alternative practitioners for fever and cough because nearby options are cheaper and easier to reach than an MBBS doctor, local pharmacist Tasneem Usmani said. A general physician in Mankhurd-Govandi may charge Rs 200-300, while some alternative practitioners charge about Rs 100, pulmonologist Vijay Chavan said.

The MMC says it checks whether applicants’ homeopathic registrations are active and whether they face negligence cases. More than 10,000 homeopaths have applied for permission to practise modern medicine, while public-health expert Abhay Shukla said the one-year course needs more rigorous training before practitioners can take on limited roles at primary health centres.