Akashavani plans programme on uses of medicinal plants

Do you know how to control asthma and diabetes by using simple medicinal plants which can be grown in your backyard or in balcony? If not, get answers to this and many such issues related to medicinal plants by tuning into the All India Radio (AIR) from June 5, 2016.

Karnataka Medicinal Plants Authority, a wing of state forest department, will organise a radio programme for people of all walks of life to help them know all about medicinal plants. The programme is being implemented under the guidance of Medicinal Plants Board of the Union government at a cost of Rs 20 lakh, U V Singh, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka Medicinal Plants Authority, told Deccan Herald.

“We have planned a 140-day-programme, twice a day on Akashavani. The broadcast timings are being finalised. The programme will be aired in Kannada and it will be a two way communication network. Listeners will be able to ask questions. The aim is to make people aware of medicinal plants which are found all around us and how they can be used,” he said.

People will be made aware of the types of medicinal plants, their local names, how to identify them, how to grow them at home and farms and how various plants and their parts can be used as a remedy for different ailments. Those who grow medicinal plants will be provided information on companies who purchase the products. The programme will also deal with the economics of growing medicinal plants.

The programme will be aired across the state simultaneously from the AIR station, Bhadravathi. The department has prepared a list of 150 speakers, comprising noted environmentalists, faculty from ayurvedic and medical colleges, retired forest officers, educationalists, farmers and traditional medicine practitioners.
Folklores will be used to make the programme more attractive and informative, he said.

Trial shows were held in Bhadravathi for a month on a weekly basis, two years ago. Looking at the success rate, the department decided to take this to larger audience.

This is part of the first ever medicinal plant programme the department is preparing after a detailed survey of Karnataka, especially the Western Ghats.