Excelsior Correspondent
BHADERWAH, June 24: To create awareness among tourists and students visiting at vulnerable niches like meadows for recreation purpose only, an awareness camp was organized to save the medicinal plants of hills at Jai Meadow, Bhaderwah.
The awareness camp was a part of the project “Community involvement in Conservation of Medicinal Plants in four hilly districts of Jammu and Kashmir” sanctioned by “The Rufford Foundation, London” wherein the local collaborators were The Himalayan Ecological and Conservation Research Foundation, Jammu (HECRF); Global Health Education and Research & Development Society, Bhadarwah (GHERDS) and Shivam Welfare Organization, Jammu (SWO).
Dr Harish Chander Dutt. Project leader along with his team members Adv Vijay Parihar (SWO), Adv Naveen Kumar (HECRF) and Adv Sanjeev Singh Katoch (GHERDS) made awareness among teachers and students of Government Middle School, Zanahri, Thateri, Doda while their visit at the meadow as tourists.
During the camp, Project leader Dr H C Dutt and other team members also interacted with tourists present on the spot and discussed the problems responsible for the depletion of the medicinal wealth growing on the hills. Posters showing the important and valuable medicinal plants of the area were also distributed among the teachers and students. During the awareness camp a very important issue came into light, when teachers discussed about the anthropogenic activities like habitat fragmentation by road construction on the hills which is not a sustainable approach of development.
To pound the importance of native medicinal plants, an on-spot drawing competition on medicinal plants was also organized during the camp, wherein 18 students of Government Middle School, Zanahri participated. Samiya Banoo was awarded with 1st prize while Zareena Bano and Mudasir Manzoor got 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively. Awards were distributed by Yash Pal a prominent senior citizen of Bhaderwah.
Follow our WhatsApp channel