In a major breakthrough, Punjab Government has established its first medicinal plants nursery in collaboration with Dehradun’s Forest Research Institution at Bhatoli village under Hoshiarpur district.
The nursery is expected to prove a major boon for the State’s ambitious crop diversification plan. The basic aim behind this nursery was to provide alternative to the farmers against the traditional paddy and wheat crop pattern in the State,” said the State Forest and Wildlife Conservation Minister Chunni lal Bhagat on Wednesday.
He said that the nursery would supply more than 100 varieties of herbal plants, which has been brought from various nurseries around the country. “The plants, especially those which can be used for treatment of human beings as well as curing animals diseases in ancient India, have also been purchased to give a push to ayurvedic treatment system,” said Bhagat. He added that Punjab Government, earlier, had also set up Guru Ravidas Ayurvedic University at Hoshiarpur. “In next step, these varieties would be developed on large scale and Punjab Government has decided to initiate a campaign to aware the farmers about replacing cash crops with these plants,” he added.
The Minister also added that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would inaugurate the nursery in mid-November. “For the marketing of these saplings, special arrangement has been made by the Forest Department and all District Forest Officers have been appointed as nodal officers in this regard,” he said. The plants at nursery mainly included Sandal, Bamboos, Falsa, lemon grass, Roja, Nirgundi, Tej Patta, Jal Brahmi, Mushkpur, Bajardanti, Malkangni, Banaksha, Shiv Nag, Nilkanth, Saket Basa and Kasturi, among others.