Central nursery of Cuttack Municipal Corporation, where the medicinal garden will come up. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Aug. 26: A herbal garden on 2.5 acres housing nearly 60 species of medicinal plants will be thrown open to the public at the civic body’s central nursery in Badambadi on the occasion of the Local Self-governance Day on August 31.

An official said the work for creation and procurement of saplings and other infrastructure at the garden was in final stages.

‘We are planning to inaugurate the medicinal garden on the occasion of the Local Self-governance Day on August 31,’ said A. Sridevi, chairperson of the civic body’s standing committee on education, recreation and culture.

High-value plant species such as lemon grass (cymbopogon), pipali (piper longum), satabari (asparagus racemosus), hatapocha (coleus barbatus), guluchi lata (tinospora cordifolia), asoka (sacra asoca) and aswagandha (withania somnifera) will be grown in the garden. Besides, one can also find other medicinal herbs, including arjuna, amla, tulasi and neem, while there are plans to procure more species in subsequent phases.

All the plant species in the garden have rich medicinal value and can be used to combat various diseases ranging from cold, cough, fever, generic disorders to various stomach ailments and others.

The civic body has spent nearly Rs 4 lakh to create the garden, which will be the first of its kind in the city. All the 60 species of medicinal herbs have been procured from the district forest department, Bhubaneswar.

Visitors will be provided with adequate information about the plant species and their uses in the form of display boards. People can visit the garden as proper pathways have been created and also can purchase herbs at much subsidised rates.

A sale point has also been established to facilitate sale of medicinal plants from the central nursery. Immediate sale of few plant varieties will start shortly after inauguration of the garden, while it may take another six months for some species, which will be sold after propagation.

A civic body official said the garden would certainly be helpful in promoting the herbs among people to treat common diseases.

At present, there are over 25,000 plants, including various ornamental and seasonal flowering ones, at the central nursery. The civic body collects a revenue of nearly Rs 1.5 lakh from the sale of these plants annually.

‘Finding traditional herbs for various ayurvedic and home-made medicines is always a big challenge. We are now happy that various medicinal plants would be easily available at the central nursery of the municipal corporation,’ said local resident Sachidananda Behera.