KOLKATA: State Health department has taken up an elaborate project of setting up herbal gardens in 548 health and wellness centres across Bengal where medicinal plants will be sown and will also encourage the people to plant saplings having various medicinal qualities in their households.
More than 271 herbal gardens will be completed within the 2022-23 financial year while around 269 will be constructed in 2023-24 financial year.Around 16 varieties of medicinal plants will be there in each herbal garden. The Ayush branch under the state health department that has been carrying out the project will ensure that awareness is created among the local people about the usage of medicinal plants.Demonstrations will be carried out by the officials at each health and wellness centre to make people acquainted with medicinal plants. Saplings will be distributed among the local people from these centres.
A senior official of the health department said that herbal gardens are coming up at 82 model Ayush OPDs as well. It will also be set up in all the districts, including 27 health districts. Each district will get 6 model OPDs with state-of-the-art facilities. People will get treatment here.
The herbal gardens are being set up at the office of the District Magistrate and Chief Medical officer of health.Earlier, the Ayush branch along with the help of the Horticulture department and state medicinal plant board cultivated the Tulsi plant on 150 bigha land in Cooch Behar under the 'Tulsi Gram' project.
The state government had selected 150 farmers at the Natabari I & II Gram Panchayats of the district each having one bigha land. Saplings were handed over to the farmers.
The government produces various items including tea, oil, syrup etc, having high medicinal value. Tulsi ark will also be produced which is used for healing fever and cough. If medicinal plants can be produced more than the demand, the government can also sell the plants to private agencies.