Northeast’s first ever medicinal research centre inaugurated in Manipur

Our Correspondent
Hengbung, August 19 (EMN): The first ever North East Centre for Ethno Medicinal Research was inaugurated at the hilly sleepy village of Hengbung on the National Highway 2 linking Imphal with rest of the country, 55 km north of Imphal on Saturday.
The centre which aims to study the tribal folklore and traditional beliefs of healing using wild herbs and the different tribal systems of food preparations with these herbs and also to identify these unique wild herbs as health improving agents, is located within the campus of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farm Science Centre) Hengbung which was awarded the best KVK in the entire north-eastern region in 2012.
Deputy Chief Minister YumnamJoykumar Singh and Commerce and Industries Minister Thongam Bishwajit Singh were the Chief Guest and functional president of the inaugural function. President Haokholet Kipgen of Foundation for environment & economic development services (FEEDS), the host institution of KVK also attended the function.
Speaking on the occasion Deputy Chief Minister Joykumar said opening of such a centre would play an important role in North-East especially to Manipur as the state has abundant medicinal plants.
Joykumar said we have so many traditional ways of healing ailments by using various medicinal plants. It will be more helpful to undergo treatments if we have the knowledge of its medicinal values by analysing its ingredients and chemicals,he added.
In his speech, Industries Minister Bishwajit said, out of 12,000 medicinal plant species which are reported in the world, 430 species are found in the North-East of which 108 species have identified in Manipur. Informing that ethno-medicinal treatment has been a long tradition in the region, he said therefore, all need to aware its importance assuring that the state government with centre’s support, will felicitate in taking up the initiatives of the centre and locals.
The whole idea is to utilise local resources with local manpower to create certain products in the path of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign, according to Scientist Dr HB Singh of Department of Science & Technology, Union Ministry of Science and Technology New Delhi.In his speech, former Registrar of Manipur university Dr RK Ranjan said the 220 ethnic communities in North East have different way of traditional healing practices which we need to study properly in the interest of the common masses.There are 4000 angiaspermic plants,500 orchids,160 fish and 50 bamboo species and 21 wild birds were reported in the region,he added.
“If the centre actively works, we’ll definitely have to show the people that this is our product made from our local resources,” he felt.
The newly inaugurated Ethno-Medicinal Research Centre which presently aims to focus on issues of three diseases–diabetes, cancer and hypertension, will be run by Dr Th Dhanaraj led 4 scientists and 13 other staffs. For this cultivation of around 30 different medicinal plants,health improving and aromatic herbs has been started at its 100 hectares conservation farm located within the campus of FEEDS at Hengbung, Dr Dhanaraj said.