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Govt
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Ayurveda Go To Index Page Chattisgarh as India's herbal capital Raipur:
Taking into account the extremely rich biodiversity of the state
with a sizable amount of medicinal, aromatic and dye plants, the state
of Chhattisgarh has been declared as the herbal capital of the country.
One of the major herbal procurement centres in the state is the district
of Raipur, which is also the capital of the state. Now in order to utilise
the natural bounties upto the maximum, various projects are being undertaken
by the state government. The Forest Protection Committee in Gariaband
of Raipur disctrict has began manufacturing herbal products under the
brand name "Bhuteshwarnath", the local religious deity. Tribals are
being employed for manufacturing Chawanprash, tooth powder, medicines
to cure diabetes, herbal tea, antibiotic powder, among other products.
"The Ayurvedic medicines cost so less that we can avail these for the
sake of our health. We thought of this and then conceptualised this
project. Now we have taught the tribals the process of making a variety
of products, and now they are aware of the medicinal qualities of the
herbal plants," said Umesh Kumar Shrivastav, an Ayurvedic expert. The
state government has been thoroughly supportive of this endeavour. "We
received every financial aid from the government. Government lent us
full financial support in whatever project we started. It's the financial
year 2005 and we haven't faced any financial crisis yet. Because of
this attitude only have we succeeded," said S D Badgaiya, District Forest
Officer. Various forest divisions in the state are working towards identification,
plantation, harvesting and marketing of medicinal plants and now the
manufacture and marketing of herbal and ayurvedic products have added
a feather in their cap. Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading
and Development) Cooperative Federation Limited, a nodal agency for
all aspects relating to management, development and trade of minor forest
produce and non-wood forest produce sector in the state, has sought
the support of various Minor Forest Produce Federations to encourage
small Forest Committees to take up the production and trade of ayurvedic
products. It would also strengthen the livelihood security of tribals
through sustainable and non-destructive forest management. Last year
in the month of August, the Medicinal Plant Board extended an aid of
about 2 crore rupees to 48 farmers in the state to cultivate a variety
of medicinal plants. Over 800 varieties of herbs and plants are found
in the state. In view of the richness of medicinal and herbal plants
in the state the state government is trying to develop a mechanism for
conservation, domestication and non- destructive harvesting with the
active support from local people including traditional healers and vaidyas.
The socio-cultural, spiritual and medicinal arena of the rural populace
particularly the tribal should form the backbone of community based
conservation and utilisation of medicinal and herbal plants.
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