Report by: Manmohan Bhatt
Programme: Special Correspondent
Telecast: Saturday (9.30 pm) and repeat telecast Thursday(4.30 pm) India is the land of ancient sciences. When the rest of the world was still evolving its civilisation, India was specialising in the nuances of great medical sciences like Ayurveda. Ayurveda is one of the greatest ways of treatment known to mankind. It is the oldest and eternal system of medicine on earth. Ayurveda is generally accepted to be the forerunner of all the great healing systems of the world. When India started to suffer invasions in the Middle Ages the system began to fall apart. The British were the final nail in the coffin of Ayurveda: they brought their own brand of modern Western medicine with them and established their own system. Ayurveda was in danger of dying out altogether. Fortunately the Indians realised what they were losing and the great Indian practice of Ayurveda was revived again. India has a rich wealth of herbs in lap of Himalayas and for centuries this invaluable treasure has been utilised by practitioners to serve mankind. There are more than 1300 kinds of herbs found in India. Out of these, around 600 are found in Uttaranchal only. World`s most precious and rare species of herbs are found in Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Almora and Pithoragarh. In Uttaranchal`s capital Dehradun, 170 species of rare herbs are found. These rich herbs are used in preparing Ayurvedic medicines. Different parts of herbs like leaves, flowers or roots are used in these preparations. Some herbs are used for their medicinal properties, while others for providing aroma. Besides medicines, these are also used in oils, perfumes, shampoos, after-shave lotions etc. However, this boon of revival did not come without its share of bane. Ironically, their medicinal quality has proved to be a threat to their existence. With stepped up demand of herbs and Ayurvedic medicines in Indian and international markets, began its smuggling and illegal trading. In Uttaranchal region, many dealers have mushroomed who trade these herbs illegally. They smuggle the rich exploits of nature to meet the increasing demand round the globe.
This illicit business is going on in this state for decades and authorities seem to be hand-in-glove with the smugglers. Although government has put a ban on the digging of these herbs, the illegal trade goes on unabated.
Whereas the legal trade of herbs amounts to around 40 crores per annum, illegal trade stands at a whoppy 120 crores. Whenever police gets a tip-off on these smugglers, it launches major nabbing operations. At times, few arrests are made but this hardly helps in curbing the menace completely. The fact remains that till the authorities adopt a more responsible approach and their nexus with the smugglers is called off, not much can be done to save these rare herbs.

This illegal traffic cast its shadow on the production of herbs. Nature could not bear this desecration and the production dropped. Nearly 25 to 30 herbal plants figure in government`s Red Data Book.
The small amount of efforts taken just might not turn out to be enough considering the magnitude of damage already done and still continuing. Uttaranchal and the neighbouring areas have a huge wealth of nature`s blessing in terms of these herbs. Immediate and strict actions are required lest we lose our invaluable herbal riches to petty money-spinners.