Plant trees for a better tomorrow

Medicinal plants have been used as a major source of therapeutic agents by human beings for thousands of years. Ancient man obtained more than 90 per cent of his medicaments from higher plans.

However, the importance of plants as a source of drugs decreased to certain extent with the advancement of knowledge in modern medicine, especially because of the phenomenal development in synthetic drug chemistry and antibiotics. In spite of the fact that synthetic drugs and antibiotics have improved the life expectancy of man all over the world, plants still constitute as one of the major sources of raw materials for drugs all over the world.

Considerable emphasis has also been laid in the research programme of drug companies during the last 10 years to tap the plant kingdom for treatment of such disease for which the modern medicine does not have any effective treatment. These include virus diseases like herpes, AIDS, cancer, arthritic disorders and liver ailments. For considerable period of time, the raw materials used were mostly obtained from natural growth in the forests. However, because of the realisation of the effect of indiscriminate exploitation on environment and ecology and to obtain as sustainable supply, major emphasis has been laid for cultivation of these plants during the recent years. It is expected that more and more plants will now be obtained from farmers’ fields rather than from forests. This is necessary to have consistent supply of quality drugs and to conserve valuable germplasm of these plants existing in nature.

A medicinal plant plantation drive was organised by EMG/ horticulture department, BTPS, at newly developed medicinal park near Employee Development Centre in October 2007. Nearly 108 saplings of different medicinal plants were planted by the participants from NTPC stations followed by GM (B), SMC members, along with employees of BTPS.

Flora and fauna at ash Dyke

The ash dyke of BTPS is an permanent habitat for some animal like neelgai as abundant food is available in the form of green vegetation at our ash dykes. The animal are shy in nature and runs on seeing human beings. Their number is quite large at ash dyke. The lush green environment at ash dyke makes it very pleasant place, as lot of migratory birds come every year & enjoy their very stay.

In 2007, Goldman Sachs cited jatropha curcas as one of the best candidates for future biodiesel production. It is resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds containing 27-40 per cent oil, averaging 34.4 per cent. When jatropha seeds are crushed, the resulting jatropha oil can be processed to produce a high-quality biodiesel that can be used in a standard diesel car, while the residue (press cake) can also be processed and used as biomass feedstock to power electricity plants or used as fertiliser (it contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium).

However, despite their abundance and use as oil and reclamation plants, none of the jatropha species have been properly domesticated and, as a result, their productivity is variable, and the long-term impact of their large-scale use on soil quality and the environment is unknown. BTPS has about 25,000 jatropha plants at its ash dyke.

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