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Recently in News
The Uttar Pradesh Government is to
implement Herbal Roads Project in a
stretch of 800 km in the state.
• In general use, herbs are plants with
savory or aromatic properties that are
used for flavoring and garnishing food,
for medicinal purposes, or for
fragrances; excluding vegetables and
other plants consumed for
macronutrients.
Herbs
• Under the project, the state government is to plant trees that
have medicinal values on either sides of the roads.
• The herbal trees to be planted include Neem, Peepal, Sehjan,
etc.
• The plants will provide raw materials to medicines and will also
help in preventing erosion of land.
Introduction
• These herbal roads will have medicinal and herbal trees – like
Peepal, Neem, Sehjan along with other herb varieties like
Brahmi, Ashvagandha and Jatrofa – along with the land on their
both sides.
• These plants will provide raw material for the medicines and will also
help in curbing the erosion of land.
• These 800 kilometer roads will be along national and state highways
passing through state and the herbal garden along with them will keep
air-borne, bacterial and other diseases at bay.
About project
• The project was launched in 18 districts.
• Such an initiative has already been implemented in Delhi-
Yamunotri State Highway 57.
• Around 34 varieties of herbal trees are to be planted.
• The project also aims to reduce the growth of non-native species
such as bonsai and cactus in homes.
• This scheme would provide multiple benefits – development,
beautification, medicinal benefits as well as promotion of
biodiversity.
• The government will also plan the facility of a rainwater recharging
system along these roads, so that groundwater conservation is also
focused upon.
• The Brahmi tree gives sharpness in memory, ashwagandha is used
in general wellness.
• It is to be noted that Ashwagandha was recently included in the study
to fight against COVID-19.
• It is also being looked as an alternative to Hydroxychloroquine.
(Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a
medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains
sensitive to chloroquine. C18H26ClN3O)
Benefits
• The development comes at a time when India is battling with a severe
bout of coronavirus pandemic, now falling among the 10 worst-
affected countries.
• The Union Ministry of AYUSH has been batting for increasing the
natural immunity since the early outbreak of COVID-19.
• The ministry had issued a notification listing some self-preventive
measures which could be followed by people to boost their immunity,
with special care towards respiratory health.
Why are herbal roads in UP significant?
• These measures placed focus on
medicinal plants like basil (Tulsi),
cinnamon (Dalchini), dry ginger
(Shunthi), Black Pepper (kali mirch),
turmeric (Haldi) and mint (Pudina), which
can help in overall improvement of
health and prevent diseases to a certain
extent.
• While modern and western medicine is expanding its scope to tackle
as many diseases as possible, putting in traditional and alternative
medicine in the mix like this seems like a good step in fighting diseases
from all sides.
• The herbal roads seem to be an extension of such medicinal plants,
with the trees listed by the Deputy CM having known medicinal
properties.
• These trees give products which can help in treatment of several
ailments through alternative medicine. Moreover, trees like peepal are
known to purify the air around it, thereby improving the air quality in
the state.