Dehradun, March 3
To make a beginning in herbal awareness, Uttarakhand has set its School Herbal Gardens programme rolling with other parts of the country to follow suit soon.

An innovative initiative, it entails creation of herbal gardens within schools which would include some lesser known varieties that are of immense importance in daily use, thus helping sensitise the schoolgoing community to herbs and shrubs.

The herbal garden is to come up on 200 sq km within the confines of the school and will include a minimum of 10 to 12 species of herbal plants.

Green Foundation, an organisation working for the promotion of medicinal plants, has successfully set up one such herbal garden at Kendriya Vidyalaya, FRI.

The foundation has identified 50 schools in the first phase of the programme, including schools in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

“There is a need to make everyone, including our younger generation, aware of various kinds of Indian herbs and their significance in our lives and the best place to sensitise the students are schools,” says Dr Ravindra Sharma, consultant and technical expert of Green Foundation.

After Kendriya Vidyalaya, we intend to set up herbal gardens at Gautam International, Pestle Weed, KV Salawala and Children’s Academy.

Some other schools too have shown interest in establishing herbal gardens within the school campuses.

There is no denying the fact that knowledge of these students of medicinal plants is very little, as they find no information on the subject in their academic curriculum.

Green Foundation has been concentrating in its efforts to ensure that children get adequate exposure towards herbs.

Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya (FRI) Dr Lalima Verma said the herbal park provoked a lot of interest in children.

Admitting that children’s knowledge on herbs was found wanting in the present-day educational scenario, she said the KV FRI herbal garden certainly brought children closer to nature.

She said the garden was well-maintained and students took active interest in maintenance of these parks.

Welcoming the initiative, Dr Aditya Kumar, who heads the Medicinal Plants Board in Uttarakhand, reiterated the state government’s commitment to promoting medicinal plants in the state.

He said the concept of herbal garden in schools was commendable and would go a long way to boost herb cultivation in the state.

He said the state government was providing material for cultivation of herbal plants to 13,000 farmers in the state.

Dr Maya Ram Uniyal, adviser to the government on medicinal and aromatic plants, said herbal gardens were an effective tool to check the declining interest among children in herbs and shrubs.

He said such gardens held much importance for Uttarakhand, which was bestowed with an enormous herbal wealth.

While there was an endless market for herbal products in India and the West, awareness vis-à-vis medicinal plants was found wanting.

He said the herbal garden initiative was a step in the right direction.

Dr Ravindra Sharma says he had been contemplating such an initiative for quite some time and after the KV FRI success, efforts for setting up more such gardens had received a tremendous boost.

Tulsi, mint, kalihari, lemon grass, piplee and aloe vera are some of the medicinal plants that are to be planted in the proposed gardens in Dehradun schools.

However, the selection of herbs will be done taking into account climatic conditions when the foundation sets up herbal gardens in other parts of the country.

The foundation plans to take up the concept of herbal gardens to Bijnore, Moradabad, Lucknow and other cities of Uttar Pradesh.

While herbal gardens help develop awareness on the importance of medicinal plants among students, it also promotes the usage of more herbal products.

Apart from setting up the gardens, the foundation plans to distribute information among the children to help provide them with an indepth knowledge of the plants at their school garden, including medicinal properties.

Dr JK Painuli, senior lecturer, Gurukul Kangri Ayurvedic College, Hardwar, says herbal gardens in schools will make the student community realize the importance of the traditional system of medicine.

While Gurukul Kangri has such gardens, the initiative in schools is commendable.

Interestingly, the National Medicinal Plant Board, New Delhi, has a programme for
awareness of medicinal plants in schools but such an initiative has been of little
help to Uttarakhand.

Dehradun, March 3
Reena, 14, of Class X, has not had a sound sleep since the past one month, for fear of the board examinations.

Examination phobia in Dehradun, known as the school capital of the country, was discussed at an open session held by Green Fields School. The participants included students, parents and experts.

Owing to high expectation of parents, children face unwanted stress, which leads to poor performance and behavioral disorders such as anger and obstinacy.

Dr Kuller, a psychology teacher at MKP Girls College, said: “The phobia is not due to books, but the high expectation of parents, teachers and society,” she said.

High expectations coupled with comparison with other chiildren further worsens the situation and makes the child’s approach towards studies negative.

“If parents want positive results, they should incalculate good habits in their children and parents should not expect miracles as every child is different and children should be respected as different individuals,” Dr Kuller.

At the tender age of 12 when the child should be playing he is buried under the
burden of books.

The syllabus in schools is so wide that children have no time left for recreation.

“Syllabus in the school has always been extensive. Teachers and parents should try out innovative methodsto bust stress,” said Dr Vipin Doundayal, principal, Rajiv Gandhi Navodhya School, Dehradun.

Constant support by family, teachers and friends helps motivate the child to face the exams with confidence.

“Social support definitely helps the child positive. Children should be encouraged to participate in sports or other activities that engage their interested and should not be forced to sit indoors if they want to spend quality time with friends,” he added.

Eating right is another important aspect for the overall development of the child.

With time management, parents should lay extra emphasis on nutritious food and
proper sleep.

A healthy body can only produce good results, and, therefore, children should be given nutritious food such as sprouts, fruit and milk.

At times they should be allowed to eat junk food as lack of variety can also lead to anger and mood swings, explained Reena Jaggi, principal, Green Fields School.

Where average and above average children manage to perform well in the exams, children with disorders, due to sheer ignorance and lack of guidance, often end up quitting studies as clearing the exams seem a struggle.

“Fear during exams is natural and punishing the child for not performing well is justified but to a certain extend. But thrashing and threatening the child is the worst option and can spell ruin for the child. Moreover, kids with special needs should be dealt with care and be taken to a counsellor on a regular basis,” said Dr Priyolal, a educator at Raphael Home.

“ I have three kids, and I make sure that along with studies my kids are also encouraged to take to their favourite sport. In the morning, I hold yoga classes for them,” said Sareeta, a participant at the session.

“We have been conducting open fairs and the most common problem that children encounter is high expectation by parents. If parents value their child’s potential, a favourable outcome is inevitable,” said Anil Jaggi, director, Green Fields School.

Dehradun, March 3
The move for a revised pension scheme for former players who have made a mark at the national and international level seems to be in a quandary.

A government order in this regard was passed on November 17, 2007.

It stated that the Uttarakhand Sports Directorate would make efforts for the promotion of sports in the state and in view of the rising inflation, the Uttarakhand government would revise pension for players and implement new pension scheme.

However, no date was mentioned for the implementation of the order.

The order stated that an Olympics participant was entitled to Rs 7,500 per month, those having participated at Asian, Common Wealth or any other international event were to Rs 6, 500 per month and players who had participated in any international event apart from those mentioned above were to get Rs 5,000 per month.

Players representing the state at the national level were to receive a pension of Rs 3,000 per month and those who had participated at state-level competitions were to get Rs 2,000 a month.

Former Olympian Hardayal, who was member of the hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne, is purturbed at the delay.

“The pension orders have been passed by the Cabinet. It seems the government is least interested in implementing the order.”

Hardayal had apprised Governor BL Joshi about his poor financial condition last year as he was finding it difficult to bear expenses for the knee surgery along with the day-to-day medical expenses. He was assured of speedy action in the matter.

But after four months, he is still waiting to receive the revised pension despite the cabinet giving the green signal to the proposal.

Another international player, Ramakant Sharma, who represented India in veterans’ badminton event in Taipei in 2007, is confused about the government order.

“The order does not specify the date of implementation. Therefore, it is difficult to understand whether or not we will be entitled to receive arrears,” says Sharma.

The ambiguity in the order does not end here. There is more to it. Sharma says: “I can’t understand whether or not I will be considered for the pension scheme at all. The order says that former famous player of the state who have played at the international, national or state level will receive pension.”

“But the issue is whether I will be eligible for the pension. I had reached the last 16 in the world championship in the veterans’ category two years ago. The order only specifies that former players will receive monetary help. I do not know if I will be treated as a former player,” says Sharma.

Inquired about the order from the secretary of sports, Utpal Singh said: “The
orders will be implemented soon”. He clarified that identified players would be
entitled to the pension.

Dehradun, March 3
The Uttarakhand traffic police, in collaboration with the Latika Roy Foundation, organised a seminar on “Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities” at the Parade Ground, on Sunday.

IG Garhwal Range MA Ganapati in his speech lauded the efforts for bringing the police and NGOs working for the people with disabilities onto one platform.

He emphasised the role of police in educating people about traffic rules and regulations. He assured all possible support from the police in making roads, and parking and public transport accessible for people with special needs.

Superintendent of Police (traffic) Nilesh Bharne dwelt at length on the social service role of police.

He said traffic rules and regulations are made keeping in mind the average man, and assured that the traffic police would help in providing accessibility to people with disabilities, in spite of the fact that they do not have the required expertise.

Bharne informed that the Dumb Welfare Association would train the traffic cops
in sign language.

SSP Dehradun Amit Kumar Sinha praised the police and Latika Roy Foundation
for taking the initiative to make people with disabilities aware of their rights to
public transport.

He said there is need for a systematic approach to make public transport accessible to people with disabilities.

Delegates from various NGOs working in this field shared the problems faced by their children while crossing roads and accessing public transport.

Suman Samuel, director, Sharp Memorial for the Blind, suggested that there should be road maps in braille.

The NGOs suggested that there should be zebra-crossings near institutes and centres for people with special needs, special ID cards for discounted travel should be issued easily to people with disability, and public transport operators should be made aware about needs of people with disabilities.

After the seminar, a street play based on troubles faced by commuters, including those with disabilities, as far as public transport was concerned was also staged.