All educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh will now have an Aarogya Vatika to make students aware of the importance of medicinal plants.
"Every household in our country has been using plants with medicinal properties for centuries. Some even worship them. However, these age-old customs and usage of these plants has been forgotten by many,” said Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma here on Saturday.
He added, “After COVID-19 pandemic, people have understood the importance of medicinal plants again and have started using them in their daily life. Our aim is to make the students understand this too and for this we have taken the Aarogya Vatika initiative in every school.”
Aarogya Vatika is a special health corner where herbs and plants with high medicinal value and the ones that are immunity boosters will be planted in various city parks in different areas to make citizens aware of their health benefits available in our surroundings.
RA Ram, scientist at the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH), Lucknow, said that the public could grow plants at home in kitchen gardens and terrace gardens and waste could be converted into compost.
A scientist at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Rajesh Verma, said the people who were suffering from fever should consume 'Kalmegh' (green chiretta).
Similarly, those who are suffering from ulcer or sciatica can use Sarpagandha (Indian snakeroot), which can be easily planted and grown at home. Consuming the plants with medicinal properties also benefits in controlling diabetes and obesity, he added.