Uttarakhand sets its heart on a Rs 25 crore medicinal plant

Dehradun, July 29: Uttarakhand may become the state with the most coveted possession if the state government is to have its way. The state government has decided to begin a search in the Himalayas for ‘Sanjeevani Booti’ a mythical medicinal plant believed to have life-saving properties.

The state has set aside an initial budget of Rs. 25 crore for the project said the state’s minister for alternative medicine Dr Surendra Singh Negi. The Himalayan state decided to fund the herb hunt after the Centre refused money for the venture.

“We have to try and it will never go to waste. If we are determined we will certainly find it,” the minister said.

Negi also said scientists would start work in August, and that the search would focus on the Dronagiri range of Himalayas near the Chinese border.

Ayurveda is an ancient medicinal science with a belief in holistic healing of the body using medicines with herbal components.

The mission could face many difficulties as the mythical herb has eluded sages and scientists since ancient times, so much so that even the wise and fearless Hanuman could not identify it when he was tasked with fetching the life-saver from the Himalayas for a mortally wounded Laxman in the clinching battle of the Ramayana.

The confused god uprooted the Dronagiri mountain and carried it all the way to Ravan’s Lanka.

Ancient texts which hail the plant as having life-restoring properties, grows in the high ranges of the Himalayas and glows in the dark.

While many wild plants with medicinal properties grow in the Himalayas, there is little evidence suggesting the plant ever existed.

Uttarakhand is said to be a treasure trove of herbs, and the forest department has recorded more than 100 plants having medicinal values in the Himalayas.