University of Pune cultivates India's ayurvedic potential
Yogesh Joshi
Pune

A UNIQUE garden is coming up at the sprawling University of Pune campus,
ahead of Second World Ayurveda Congress in the city early next month.
Dedicated to medicinal plants, the garden has over 350 varieties, some so
rare that they are almost extinct.

The university campus will be a venue for the Ayurveda Congress, to be held
in the first week of November. The idea for a medicinal plants garden was
born because of the congress and it started taking shape from June.
Now the garden promises to be a one of its kind in the country.

India has a potential to make it big globally with its ayurvedic medicines
and many prominent dignitaries from the field are expected to express their
views on the topic at the univer sity during the congress on November 5.
The garden, which is spread over 1.5 acres, will showcase rare plants like
comifora mukul, sita ashok, dikemali at the congress. The Ayurveda
Department of the University of Pune is coordinating with eminent Ayurveda
expert Parashuram Vaidya Khadiwale to collect more medicinal plants from
various parts of the country.

"The collection of such a large number of medicinal plants, some of them
very rare, at one place is happening for the first time in the country,"
Head of the Ayurveda Department Dr Vijay Doifode told Hindustan Times. "Some
rare plants have been brought even from the desert of Rajasthan and
 Gujarat." Doifode said the main intention behind the garden was a long-term
one - to have a place for students of ayurvedic colleges in the country to
study the plants and disseminate the information to common man.

The department will also call farmers and encourage them to sow medicinal plants
in their fields. Parashuram Vaidya Khadiwale said some plants were also being imported from the Gulf and other countries.

The garden, which is to be to be thrown open to the public from October 19,
has been named after eminent ayurveda expert Mahamana Vaidya Shankar
Dajishastri Pade.

The garden has received monetary help from Centre's Medicinal Plant Board.
Help was also sought from the Pune Municipal Corporation's Garden Department
Superintendent Yashawant Khaire and other ayurveda institutes from Dapoli
and Pen.

yogesh.joshi@hindustantimes.com Green pharm Rare medicinal plants are being
cultivated on 1.5 acres on Pune University campus The variety of plants will
be showcased at the Second Ayurveda Congress in early November Garden will
facilitate study of the plants by ayurveda students A programme to encourage
farmers to grow medicinal plants is planned


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