Project for homestead cultivation of sandal and Asokam launched
The government is preparing to set up Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) centres integrating different Indian systems of medicine in hospitals across the State, Minister for Health V.S. Sivakumar has said. The first such Ayush centre will be set up at the taluk hospital, Neyyattinkara, soon, he said.
He was speaking at the State-level inauguration of a project to promote homestead cultivation of sandal ( Santalum album ) and Asokam ( Saraca asoca ), two endangered species of plants with medicinal properties. Mr. Sivakumar said herbal gardens would be created in all districts under plans to address the severe shortage of raw materials for the Ayurveda drug manufacturing industry in the State. The first garden would be set up on the Museum premises in Thiruvananthapuram.
In schools
The Minister said the Department of Health had launched a project to create herbal gardens in all schools. “The shortage of medicinal herbs is forcing the Ayurveda industry to compromise on the quality of drugs. This has to be addressed by ensuring steady supply.”
Mr. Sivakumar said the medicinal plant gardens being set up under various programmes would also help to restore the diminishing green cover in the State.
Delivering the presidential address, K. Muraleedharan, MLA, stressed the need to integrate traditional knowledge with modern science to address environmental pollution.
Mayor K. Chandrika and actor Suresh Gopi distributed saplings of the two species. K.G.Sreekumar, Chief Executive Officer, State Medicinal Plants Board (SMPB); Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute Director P.G. Latha, Kerala Union of Working Journalists secretary Suresh Vellimangalam, and Ayurveda Research Institute Senior Research Officer G.R. Jayakumar spoke.
The project to promote cultivation of sandal and Asokam has been taken up by the SMPB. It is estimated that 2,300 tonnes of the bark of Asokam and 350 tonnes of sandalwood are used to manufacture a variety of herbal drugs in the country every year. A large amount of sandalwood is also used to make sandal oil and other products. But the available resources constitute only a fraction of the demand for the two species.
The three-year project seeks to arrest the depletion of the two species and ensure the distribution of high-quality saplings for planting in homesteads. The board will arrange a buy-back mechanism involving manufacturers to benefit the growers.