JOIN USGreen House to conserve rare plant species at Chandravana
To nurture and conserve rare plant species, Bhava Mishra Green House has been developed at Chandravana, on Kukkarahalli Lake Road in the city. An initiative of Government Ayurveda Medical College and Hospital, the green house was dedicated on Sunday by Union Minister of State for Ayush Shripad Yesso Naik.
Buoyed by successful ‘Moolika Dasara’, during the recently concluded Nada Habba Dasara, the ayurveda college has set up the green house, with the help of Nurserymen Co-operative Society from Lalbag, Bengaluru. The estimated cost is Rs 3.5 lakh.
Apart from planning to raise RET (rare, endangered and threatened) plant species normally found in the western ghats, the college has planned to exhibit same species of plants during Dasara-2016. Many orchids, ferns and plants like Mappia, Coscinium, Kokam, Red Sandal, Mesua, Apama and Woodfordia will be multiplied in this green house. It facilitates uniform and fast growth of plants, that would be pest and disease-free. The minute and hairy seeds of plants will also germinate with 100 per cent germination with controlled humidity and temperature in the house. It has been equipped with mist chamber with controlled water sprinkler irrigation facility.
The house is named after Bhava Mishra, a legendary medical botanist of 16th century, who lived in present day Gujarat. He was a dominion king of Hammeera Desha of North West India. His contribution to world botanical medicine is noteworthy, as his scientifical classification on spices, food and medicinal plants and botanical features are considered to be his original work. He lived much earlier to C I Innaues ‘Father of Modern Botany’.
Minister says
Union Minister Shripad Yesso Naik, who took part in the inaugural ceremony organised at Government Ayurveda Medical College, said, “Ayurveda experienced a great reputation not only in kayachikitsa (medicine), but also in shalya (surgery) and kaumarabhritya (paediatrics). Plastic surgery is Sushruta’s gift to modern medicine, that traversed from teachers to scholars through proper schooling, systematic texts, conferences and symposia’.
The minister said, “Our ancestors had such a remarkable sense of observations that they could see the effect of natural products such as plants (herbs), animal products and minerals on humans for preventive and therapeutic aspects.”
The ministry has taken many initiatives to promote and propagate ayurveda through its various schemes such as extra mural research (EMR) funding, grant-in-aid public health initiative (PHI), center of excellence (COE), grant-in-aid for seminar/ symposia among other plans.
Different venue
Though the green house has been set up at Chandravana, on Kukkarahalli Lake Road, it was decided to organise the inaugural ceremony at the college, due to security reasons, according to college sources.