Derhadun, December 8
Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri’s outburst against forest officials for doing little vis-à-vis promoting cultivation of medicinal plants has yet again exposed the state’s failure to encash on its natural resources.

This part of the country has always been known as the hub of ethno-medicine. From the mythological sanjeevini booti to today’s aphrodisiac herbs like the yarchagumba (keeda jadi), the variety of medicinal herbs found here has no parallels.

But the state doesn’t seem to have understood the importance of this wealth and has till date not focused efforts on cultivating more such herbs.

While the farmers are hesitant to switch over to cultivating medicinal herbs, lack of marketing and other infrastructure support are major stumbling blocks. Most collection of herbs in Uttarakhand is through unlawful means, a fact admitted by the Chief Minister, who says the state contribution to generating medicinal herbs is a mere 1 per cent.

Dr Ravindra Sharma, consultant and technical expert in medicinal plant cultivation, says while efforts to promote cultivation of medicinal plants are altogether missing, it’s over-exploitation, unfriendly harvesting and unmonitored trade that is making matters worse.

Interestingly, over 72 industries dealing in manufacturing of herbal medicines have made a foray into Uttarakhand since the state’s inception. Companies like Divya Yoga Pharmacy of Baba Ramdev’s fame utilise nearly 1,000 tonnes of herbs every month.

But then lack of proper promotional policies for the farmers towards cultivation of medicinal plants have forced these companies to seek raw herbs from faraway states like Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Uttarakhand forest minister Bansidhar Bhagat admits that a lot needs to be done on this front. There is hardly any support on part of the forest authorities towards promotion of cultivation of medicinal herbs.

The biggest discouraging factor comes in the form of marketing. While farmers can somehow be convinced to grow medicinal plants, instead of traditional crops, making them understand the financial implications can be tough. On account of lack of market support, the farmers continue to be hesitant to switch over to cultivating herbs.

However, additional secretary (medicinal plants) GS Pandey says tjhere has been a change in the last few years. There have been concentrated efforts to streamline the entire process, from cultivation of medicinal plants to processing, and finally marketing of products.

He argues that opening of herbal mandis at Rishikesh, Ramnagar and Tanakpur in October 2004 with a few more in the pipeline are steps in the right direction.

While marketing continues to be the biggest impediment, there is a ray of hope as the Uttarakhand Khadi and Village Industries Board has pledged to give medicinal plants products more space in its exhibitions.

The chief executive officer of the board, A K Khanduri, says the board exhibitions can to a large extend help the state towards marketing of its medicinal and aromatic plants.

While the state needs to do a lot to promote its herbs and shrubs, the unlawful collection of these plants by smugglers continues unchecked. There has been instances when death has occurred in a quarrel over unlawful collection of a herb. Yarchagumba fetches exorbitant financial returns being in great demand in Tibet and China.

The Chief Minister’s observation at a function on Sunday that Uttarakhand leads in smuggling of medicinal plants reveals the sorry state of affairs.

There have been some encouraging signs from the private sector as many herbal products manufacturing companies eyeing Uttarakhand. Dr Deepti Rai from Ayurvet Limited, New Delhi, is in Uttarakhand these days to explore opportunities for a tieup with local farmers towards purchasing medicinal plants.

“We are here to offer the farmers to sell their produce of medicinal plants to us,” said Deepti, senior project coordinator, Ayurvet . But then it is difficult to find such farmers.

“It is a paradox. While we need raw herbs in big numbers and the farmers are searching for buyers, lack of effective coordination is depriving both of benefits,” she informs.

Those dealing with herbal products too are not much enthusiastic about promotion of medicinal plants.

Companies like Dabur and Baidhyanath have set up their units in Uttarakhand but that in no way helps in promotion of medicinal plants.

“First, they seek raw material on an all-India basis and second, the rates of their products are also fixed on a countrywide basis. Thus, it does not matter to the distributors whether the product comes from Delhi or Uttarakhand,” says Anurag of Hitkari Vastu Bhandar, one of the biggest dealers in ayurvedic products.

But all hope is not lost as some believe the state is now on the right track.

“The market for medicinal plants is on the rise and with the state government’s growing concern on the issue, things are bound to improve,” claims NP Dewan, a dealer in medicinal herbs.

Echoing similar sentiments, Dr Brahmjot Singh, nodal office, State Medicinal Plants, Punjab, says one of the strengths of Uttarakhand is the abundance of its flora (that is linked to plants of medicinal value) and a little effort on the part of the state can yield excellent results.

Dehradun, December 8
Women in the capital city had an opportunity to splurge on an exquisite range of Kolkata saris on display at the just- concluded Khadi Festival.

"We are from Hugli district but we also have saris from Shanti Niketan, Vishnupuri and Dhaka in Bangladesh. Women and men from various parts of West Bengal are employed to make these saris,” said Sajal Roy salesman.

Depending on the time and type of saris, employees are paid their dues. "Most women in West Bengal join sari production. This helps them earn money to run their families,” said Sajal Roy.

A lot of time and energy goes into the production of these saris. First, a blue print of the design is made on paper and final work done after that. Cotton saris are prized between Rs 360 to Rs 2,250 whereas the silk cost between Rs 760 to Rs 8,000.

“We have cotton, Bhaluchari silk, Jhamdhani silk and jute silk saris. People here loved the jute saris and took these in bundles,” said Makbool, a salesman.

“I purchased five jute silk saris and two silk saris as they are lovely,” said Shalini, a housewife.

The sari which catch everyone’s attention at the stall, are khantha work saris. “Making these saris take six to seven months as the embroidery on it is detailed and time- consuming. Most visitors to the stall love khantha work saris but many don’t have the cash to purchase these,” said Makbool.

“As compared to last year, this year the sale was less but we are hopeful it will pick up next year,” said Sajal Roy.

A few years back, when I invited my cousins to a small family function, I was advised by them to either postpone the function or excuse them for their absence as their kids were headed for school unit tests. They did not attend the function. Of course, I was not happy with their response.

Rather, I was surprised and asked myself why they could’nt spare a few hours for the function? Why was the whole family busy preparing the kids for merely school unit tests, and that too for primary classes?

Many years have passed since that episode and now I find myself face a similar dilemma. I have to reschedule my personal/official programmes on the basis of my kids school exams, unit tests etc.

The family atmosphere becomes tense during the examdays, with every family member rescheduling his/her programme for the sake of a better school progress report.

The matter is treated more serious than anyone falling sick in the family.

Tension runs high between husband and wife with unending arguments as to who should shoulder the responsibility of preparing the children for the tests. In most cases, it is the mother.

The father often takes refuge in official meetings and professional commitment.

My cousin was in a government job, so it was easy for him to take “sarkari off” and give 100 per cent to his kids’ exams. But for me and many more parents like me who are self-employed, in private jobs or business, taking off during exams is unthinkable.

I feel pity for helpless parents like us, always under unseen pressures and tension. Last month my son fell ill and like any other responsible father, I took him to the best doctors in town.

He had to go through various tests, including ultra-sound and many more blood tests. To my surprise, the doctors told me that there was no medical problem with the child; it was just exam fever.

The doctors said many young kids suffering from fear of failure and exam phobia showed up at their clinics.

The doctors advised me that my son, Shubhang, did not need treatment but must be taken out for sports/physical activities or to a movie to soothe his nerves.

Being an active sportsman during school/college days, I realised the power of physical activity in developing a child’s personality and decided to include this in my children’s daily routine.

There are many voiceless Shubhangs in every house, who are becoming victims of their parents’ aspirations, going to the so-called best schools.

Whenever I get time to sit with Shubhang for his studies, who is in Class VIII, I find difficult to teach him despite being a science postgraduate.

The syllabi is mostly vast and irrelevant. Government agencies, responsible for standardisation and checking of the syllabi seem either helpless or ignorant about these developments.

A publisher from Daryaganj, New Delhi, ties up with schools, selling expensive books printed on glossy paper for the larger profit of the company, making the poor students sick and frustrated with overloaded schoolbags.

Many schools in Dehradun have introduced Class IX syllabus in Class VIII for better results in the Class X board exams. Education is no longer learning-centric but result-oreiented.

Why are we speechless? Why don’t we question these schools on their decision to impose unwanted burden on young shoulders without considering the consequences on child’s mental, emotional and physical well-being?

Are school principals the final authority on the matter? Just for the sake of cent per cent results to showcase achievement to the media, should these children be burdened? During any get-together, kids’ education/result remain the dominant topic, with parents always blaming kids for not performing up to the mark, but do not dare to speak about the present school system. Children are not treated as human but mere score machines.

How many parents are really concerned about the physical, mental, social, moral, emotional, spiritual development of their kids? Even if they are, the burdensome education system, leaves the children with little time for anything else.

That our future generation is not able to cope with the growing pressures is indicated by the growing number of suicide cases, even in prestigious institutes like the IITs, IIMs and the IMA.

In this 21st century, when business models, governance and social fabric are changing, why can’t we have different schooling or evaluation system for our kids? As said by leading educationist CS Lewis: “The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts”.

Let us wakeup-parents and educators-we have to demand child-centric, integrated and inclusive education with lifelong learning skills, not mere degrees and certificates.

The writer is ICT consultant

Haridwar, December 8
Workers of health department Haridwar have threatened to start an agitation if their demands were not met. The activists under the banner of Uttaranchal Health Asha Workers Union Haridwar (USAKM) gathered at the District Magistrate office in Roshanabad on Saturday and shouted slogans against the health department for not paying them adequately.

The workers demanded permanent appointment and other basic facilities.

Though, the job of these health activists is tough yet they don't get proper wages. They demanded a minimum wage of Rs 3,500 per month.

"Our demands of remuneration are meagre as compared to the other department employees" said Mukesh Upadhyay, president of the USAKM. The Union has decided to wait for the response of the chief minister.

Dehradun, December 8
Uttarakhand Governor B.L. Joshi and Chief Minister Maj Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd) has greeted the people of the state on the eve of Id-ul-Zuha.

The Governor in his greetings described the festival as a symbol of sacrifice. He appealed to the people to celebrate the festival with the spirit of brotherhood.

Chief Minister Khanduri held that Uttarakhand had always stood by the principles of secularism.