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J&K’s forest dept aims to conserve herbal, medicinal plants
The park setup on 18 hectares on the foothills of Viji Top three years ago has 70,000 different plant species
With medicinal plants and herbs declining in J&K forests, a herbal park on the foothills of the majestic Viji Top could prove to be a game-changer in the protection of the medicinal and herbal plants found in forests.
Setup on 18 hectares of land, amid the pine forests, at an altitude of 1900m the park was established three years ago and is now a place where thousands of plants are being grown in polybags and later distributed to colleges, universities and various government departments.
“We have planted different types of medicinal plants, herbs and flowers which grow in the forests,” said Mansoor Ahmad, Block Forest Officer, who is also in charge of this park which in future could even become a major tourist attraction in the entire Kashmir.
He said the main aim of this garden was to conserve the different plant species with herbal and medicinal properties. “Since we have seen the decline in medicinal and herbal plants in our forests so it was necessary to set up a place where we can do plantation of these rare species which are threatened in the forests due to several issues.”
He said the other purpose of this park was to provide information about plants and herbs to researchers, teachers and students who come from different parts of Kashmir. “Even the villagers come here and seek information about herbs and plants with rich medicinal properties.”
He said the park at present has 70,000 different plant species. “We have mainly those species that can be found in our forests easily and are endangered or those plants which have been over-exploited by the people.”
He said a plant named Saussurea costus or (Kuth) which is an endangered species in our forests has been grown here in poly bags. “Now, we have thousands of such plants and other species as well which are also endangered. This will help in the conservation of these species as well.”
Forest conservator north Irfan Rasool Wani who was the brain behind this park said, “In the coming years, new features will be added in this park so that more and more people will come to this park, especially villagers and students who will be educated about the importance of plants and herbs found in our forests.”
Besides plants, the park has small enclosures or nests for birds and bee hives and eco-friendly spaces for visitors.
for the past couple of decades, the herbs and medicinal plants have been over-exploited in the forests of Kashmir and many times the police have arrested villagers with high-value herbs and medicinal plants.
“With this herbal park, we think endangered plants, flowers and herbs could be saved in the future,” said Irfan Rashid, assistant professor at the department of Botany at Kashmir University. Rashid, however, said that the park has a vast area and capacity to grow more species of plants.
Local villagers are also enthusiastic about this park. “This park made the new generation aware of the rich plants and vegetables found in our forests. I have been going to forests for years but couldn’t identify many plants,” said Mushtaq Ali, an ex-serviceman, who lives near the herbal park.
