Massage clinic owners seek legal assistance against raids

Massage clinic owners seek legal assistance against raids

A group of representatives of Ayurveda professionals association has met North Western deputy inspector of police Deshabandu Mr. Tennakoon and voiced their appeal on the 22nd requesting to stop creating problems by arresting employees and managers of their massage centres even when they are equipped with a licence to conduct a massage centre legally in accordance with

the indigenous medical systems they are in possession with and further being produced before courts.

The representatives who met the inspector of police at deputy inspector general's office expressed the issue they are posed with, to the media. Mrs. Indrani Swarna Senaratna the former secretary of Sri Lanka Indigenous Medicine Association presented the following matters on behalf of United Ayurveda Services Professions Society: "We placed certain facts before the deputy inspector general of police to alert about the anti-legal raids conducted by police in a manner which brings disrepute to our Ayurveda Medical profession. We are not saying that incidents of immorality are not taking place within some illegal massage centres. But on the other hand police keep on raiding massage centres which are being operated with a proper licence in accordance with the Ayurveda Act.

Advocaters of Ayurveda medicine belonging to the indigenous medical sector are totally responsible for this blunder. That is, they had from a number of years back taken a sum of Rs. 1300 and provided a receipt after giving permission on behalf of a request made across an indigenous physician. A single physician could obtain three receipts to launch a massage centre. They are the people who are responsible for this. They should inquire as to what is happening inside those establishments.

Mr. Prasanna Munasingha, president of the association said that the female employees and manager was taken into custody after ordering the physician to get out at two places in Kadawatha and Pahala Biyanwila in the town of Wattala. Dr. Mrs. Indrani Senaratna further mentioned that Ayurveda massage activity which was the right of the indigenous physician fell into the present state because of the Rs. 1300 receipt and medical students who did not know a damn about the subject of indigenous medical profession.

-- Kusum S. Nennedi --