SRINAGAR, DEC 28: Jammu and Kashmir is home to 1200 medicinal plants and their demand in neighbouring countries have turned the Union Territory into a fertile ground for smugglers.
The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is famous for its rich variety of plants with medicinal qualities, which are used in medical treatments, aromatherapy and cosmetics. Researchers have documented around 1200 medicinal plants growing in Jammu and Kashmir. These are rarely found anywhere in the world and have great medicinal value.
Mohammad Shahid, a research scholar is studying the reproductive biology of medicinal plants. This year, he visited Afarwat, a mountain in North Kashmir. He intended to collect samples of Arnebia Benthamii, commonly known as Kahzaban.
He returned empty-handed all three times. The flowers of Kahzaban have been found to help people with heart problems. The plant also contains high levels of antioxidants.
“Eight years ago Kahzaban was abundant, but it is rarely found now. Medicinal plants grown in Kashmir are smuggled to various neighbouring countries. These medicinal plants have a great value and are mostly found only in Kashmir Himalayas,” he said.
He said some of the region’s medicinal plants are rarely found anywhere else and we have lost around 50 percent over the last two decades.
Their uses are extensive. Saussurea costus, a type of thistle known locally as kuth, is used to treat joint and back pain, ulcers, dysentery and fever. From Aconitum heterophyllum (paewakh), a lotion is made to treat headaches and coughs. A decoction made from the leaves of Dioscorea deltoidea (kraeth) is used as eyedrops to treat infections and sharpen eyesight.
Mushtaq Ahmad, a resident of Tangmarg in north Kashmir where most of the medicinal plants are found, said there are many people involved in the extraction of medicinal plants.
“We extract plants from the soil then sell them to people who are dealers of these medicinal plants. This is how we make our earnings of Rs 600-800 daily. We get Rs 3000 for each kilogramme of Trillium. It takes one person four to five days to collect 1 kilogram of Trillium,” he said.
Trillium Govanianum is thought to cure many sexual disorders, especially infertility in men. It is also a cancer treatment. One kilogram of Trillium has a market value of Rs 80,000.
Mushtaq made this reporter talk to one of the medicinal plant smugglers from North Kashmir’s Baramulla.
The smuggler shared the details with the assurance that his identity wouldn’t be revealed.
He said there are people who purchase these medicinal plants from villagers. “We provide them a small amount of Rs 600-Rs 800 per day. These medicinal plants are being exported in trucks laden with fruits to Rajasthan, Chandigarh from where these are supplied to various countries. We have dealers in these states. These medicinal plants are also smuggled through Line of Control in J&K,” he said.
A senior official of the J&K Forest Department said the extraction of many medicinal plants is banned in Jammu and Kashmir.
“However, smugglers get around this by sending local men and women to the forests to pick the plants, as well as wood and dried leaves. This makes it difficult for forest guards to identify wrongdoing,” he said. He said that forest dwellers are not aware that the plants are being overexploited by neighbouring countries.
