Herbal Garden Bhatoli (Talwara) for a Healthy Tomorrow
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Herbal Garden Bhatoli (Talwara) For a Healthy Tomorrow ndia is known to be the treasure house of hundreds of Ithousands of medicinal plants having myriad curing Approach to Herbal Garden abilities of many dreaded ailments with hardly any side Area : 25 Acres effects. The ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine is based Location : Village Bhatoli on Kandi Canal mainly on medicinal herbs found in the forest. The ‘triphala’ and ‘ chayvanprash’ are well known formulations used in Nearest Town : Talwara, 10 km every Indian household. Nearest Railway Station : Dasuya, 25 km Best time to take away plants : July - September Fortunately, sub-mountainous Shiwalik belt popularly known as ‘kandi’ area being a transition zone between plains and hills has a rich biodiversity including many 1 useful species of medicinal trees and herbs. However, due to intensive cultivation practices, reckless exploitation of natural reserves and rapid urbanisation, the wealth of medicinal plants has been found to be declining. On the other hand, the demand of plant based therapeutics has been increasing manifold in both the developed and developing countries. This is due to the recognition that they are natural organic products, and being non-narcotic have no side-effects, and most of them are easily available at affordable prices. Further due to rising demand of plant- based crude drugs, there is an urgent need to evolve in- situ conservation practices. It is also felt that due to lack of systematic information on the cultivation practices and utilization of medicinal herbs, people are generally reluctant to initiate cultivation of herbs. Here was a challenge for the Forest Department to step in and develop a model medicinal plants nursery and a garden. The same was established at Bhatoli (near Talwara) on a Panchayat land during 2014 where people could learn the methods and techniques of cultivation and utilization of medicinal herbs both for domestic as well as commercial ends. The herbal garden is a repository of more than one hundred medicinal trees, shrubs and herbs commonly found in the Shiwalik area. The interpretation centre in the garden displays pictorial glimpses of the medicinal plants and their uses. The centre is used to train farmers and students interested in herbal medicine. The herbal garden is a new step to bring awareness about the importance of the hidden wealth in the Shiwalik area and its conservation. It will also popularize the use of local medicinal plants for common ailments and encourage the small and marginal farmers to cultivate them for raising their income resources. 2 Common Medicinal Plants for distribution to Public Ratti Arbus precatorius Mehendi Lawsonia inermis Dum Booti Adhatoda vasica Peppermint Mentha arvensis Sarpagandha Rawolfia serpentina Chitrak Plumbago zeylanica Shikakai Acacia concinna Brahmi Buti Centella asiatica Malkangni Celastrus paniculatus Sohanjana Moringa oleifera Tulsi Ocimum sanctum Juhi Jasminum auriculata Akarkara Anacyclus pyrethrum Harshingar Nyctanthes arboretristis Ashwagandha Withania somnifera Nirgundi Vitex negundo Isbagol Plantago ovata Pila Datura Datura stramonium Safed Musli Asparagus adscendens Kapur Cinnamomum camphora Lasoora Cordia myxa Kuchhla Strychnose nuxvomica Stevia Stevia rebaudiana Senna Cassia angustifolia Shatavari Asparagus racemosus Bael Aegle marmetos Holorrhena Holarrhena antidysentrica Giloe Tinospara cordifolia Patharchat Coleus barbatus Kantakari Solanum xanthocarpum Din Ka raja Cestrum diurnum Aloe Alobar badensis Amla Embica officinalis Aloe Vera Aloe vera Bahera Terminalia bellerica Jal brahmi Becopa manniera 3 State of the Art Clonal Eucalyptus Plants Nursery unjab being predominantly an agricultural state, its About Clonal Nursery Parea under forests is only 4.85 per cent.Whereas, the area under forests is decreasing steadily due to diversion Area : 6.00 ha for developmental purposes, the cultivated area under Location : Kadian Reserve Forest, Ludhiana - wheat- rice cropping system has been increasing causing Jalandhar Road, 5km from Ludhiana Bye Pass irreparable environmental degradation. This has prompted the government to diversify the area from agriculture to Covered Area by Green Houses : 4480 sq m. other land uses. Annual Production Capacity : 50 lakh Clonal Plants Agro forestry is the sustainable land use with multiple benefits. In fact, Punjab Forest Department has been the pioneer in introducing agro forestry models in the state and has been supplying seedlings to the public since 1970s. As 4 a result of this effort, the state has 6.01 crore trees growing outside the forests. Introduction of clonal eucalyptus has given a further impetus to agro forestry in the state. Clonal eucalyptus being 2-3 times faster than the seed-grown eucalyptus provides additional income to the farmers and therefore, has become popular with farmers. In the growing economy, as the demand for wood-based industrial products increases,growing of trees outside the forests becomes essential to meet the demand. Growing of trees in agroforests has the additional environmental benefits besides providing opportunity for crop diversification. In this endeavour, Punjab Forest Department has established a state-of-the-art clonal Eucalyptus plants nursery during 2014-15 at Kadian, Ludhiana having an annual production capacity of 50 lakh plants through the established protocols of clonal technology. The facility has a chain of mist chambers, green shade houses and hardening area all caliberated with automated sprinkler system. The complex has the vegetative multiplication garden with germplasm of fast growing clones of eucalyptus viz. 2070, 413, 288, 526,407, 10 and 3. This is so far the biggest clonal eucalyptus propagation facility in the public sector in India. The facility will meet the requirement of quality clonal plants for the decades to come in the state and the adjoining areas. The benefits due to agricultural economy and the environment are likely to be substantial. As the farmers are to get the quality clonal plants at the subsidized rates near to their places, it will be a great respite for them from the monopoly of the private nurseries. Eucalyptus clones for different soils For balanced soils - 2070, 413, 288, 526, 407, 3. For saline soils - 413, 526, 288, 407, 130. For waterlogged soils - 492, 498,27, 10, 469. 5 Common Facility Centre Creating Income Generating Activity erhaps, a few know that Punjab has a rich resource About the Centre Pof bamboos. We have exclusive bamboo forests in Karanpur, Bindraban and Nandbir forests spread over 3392.5 Location : Village Bhatoli Panchayat land on ha in Talwara tehsil of Hoshiarpur district. Throughout the Kandi Canal. Shiwalik foothills, bamboos are also grown by farmers and Nearest Town : Talwara, 10 km other households. However, except for domestic use and Nearest Railway Station : Dasuya, 28 km occasional supply to the paper mills, they do not find major Trainings Imparted : Bamboo handicrafts and artefacts. local cottage use for sustaining livelihoods. The traditional use of bamboos for making handicrafts, baskets and mats have been lost due to arrival of competitive industrial 6 products in the market. However, due to abundance of bamboo resource at the door steps, there exists a vast potential for utilizing this resource for developing livelihood means and employment opportunities and thus promoting economic development of the underdeveloped ‘kandi’ tract. Bamboos can be put to use to manufacture a hundred of industrial products at competitive prices like mats, tool handles, brushes, toys, sports goods, musical instruments, boats and rafts, fishing rods, caps,chicks,kites etc. As the quality of bamboo products depends upon the training and experience of the artisans, and use of improvised machines to maintain uniformity of the products; a Common Facility Centre was established at Bhatoli in 2014 to improve infrastructure facilities. The Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute, Bangalore was involved to establish the machinery for primary processing of bamboos, supervise the installation and commissioning of machinery and organize training for operating machines, their maintenance and making modifications for manufacturing a number of products. Initially, two groups of local artisans have been trained at the Centre who will act as trainers to provide entrepreneurial skills and competencies that will enable the local unemployed youth to become self-employed and generate capital through sale of bamboo products. The Centre is set to promote greater and efficient utilization of bamboos in the state by scientific management and integrated processing techniques for the benefit of the local community. In fact, the trained artisans have already established their cottage units and started production of bamboo mats. The capacity of the artisans has increased considerably because of the efficient use of machines and the products are catching demand because of maintenance of quality. Thus, a new era of efficient use of natural resource has started with the establishment of Bamboo Centre. 7 Chhatbir Zoo Eco-friendly drive ho will not like to visit M C Zoological Park popularly Wcalled Chhatbir Zoo, a show case for wild animals in the northern India. Children, men and women of all ages are all fascinated to see the roaring tigers, daring leopards and the majestic Asiatic lions in the natural surroundings of the zoo. The zoo houses a wide variety of 1200 animals belonging to more than 100 species. There is a small herd