Kaushal Vatikas will give easy access to herbs: Uttar Pradesh minister

LUCKNOW: UP minister for forest, environment and climate change, Dara Singh Chauhan, said the people of the state have acted on the chief minister’s appeal of one-man-one-tree with enthusiasm.
“The forest department will also plant Kaushal Vatikas so that people have easy access to medicinal plants and herbs,” said the forest minister. The department used Quick Capture App for geo-tagging of trees.

Sahjan saplings were planted in schools that give mid-day meal to students because sahjan curbs malnutrition. The forest department planted 1.3 crore trees along the Ganga and its 80 tributaries in the state.
At least 42 crore saplings were raised in the 1,813 nurseries of the forest department to ensure timely availability of plants according to the demand in every district. Apart from this, the silk and horticulture department had raised saplings in their nurseries.
The forest department has provided free saplings to government departments, various court premises, farmers, institutions, individuals, private and government schools, central government undertakings, local bodies, railways, defence, industrial units, cooperative societies, as before. To ensure transparency, the department planting a sapling will also have to geo-tag it.
The saplings were planted in a grid. The arrangements have been made for their irrigation through boring, canals and other sources. The saplings that were planted included parijat, sheesham, neem, amaltas, gulmohar, jacaranda, sirius, kanji, mango, chitwan, banyan, peepal, pakad, moulshree, kachnar, tamarind, bel, mahua, aonla, harad, dhak, kadamba, gular, jamun, arjun, kaitha, sahjan, bahera, ashwagandha, satwar, sarpagandha, peepli, duddhi, giloy, tulsi, guarpatha, white musli and others-.The saplings of more than 120 species were planted.
Governor Anandiben Patel planted a harishankari (peepal, banyan and pakar are planted together in harishankari) in a ‘smriti vatika’ close to Simradha dam on Pahuj river in Jhansi. As many as 5,000 saplings were planted in the ‘vatika’ and over 10,000 sahjan seedlings were distributed to the villagers at the site.
The CM planted harishankari at Purvanchal Expressway, Sultanpur. He also planted one sapling each in Nakshatra Vatika, Panchvati and Navgraha Vatita. These are specific formations of trees which are mentioned in the scriptures. The CM also got the pictures clicked with the students at the ‘smriti vatika’. The forest department has established 18,878 ‘smriti vatikas’ in the state in the memory of those who died during due to Covid or non-Covid ailments.