Himachal eyes profitable farming of medicinal plants

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday announced that it was developing agro-techniques for making cultivation of medicinal plants profitable in the state.

In order to identify species suitable for cultivation in each climatic zone, the state is developing the agro-techniques.

This would help supplementing the income of the growers, the government said in a statement.

The Department of Ayurveda has launched a programme for the promotion and conservation of the herbal wealth by setting up gardens in the different climatic zones.

The herbal gardens have been set up in Jogindernagar in Mandi district, Neri in Hamirpur district, Dhumrera in Shimla, and Jungal Thalera in Bilaspur.

At present, the state has four 'Amchi' (Tibetan medicine) health centres, three Unani centres and one drug-testing lab.

Three departmental ayurvedic pharmacies are manufacturing drugs for free distribution in the state, the statement said.

The department is also providing specialised services with the setting up of 17 'panchkarma' and nine ‘kasharsutra' centres in hospitals across the state.

For preparing the workforce in the ayurveda medicine, the government has increased seats in Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery, course from 50 to 60 in the Rajiv Gandhi Government Postgraduate Ayurvedic College in Paprola.

Besides, postgraduate courses in ayurveda like ‘kayachikitsa', ‘shalakya tantra' and ‘shalya tantra' are also available.