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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.