Herbal Park initiative

Aims:

• • To make the medicinal plants available to people, there by low cost and alternative health measures are in place.
• Awareness in the people should be created on Indian traditional medicine.
• To increase the greenery, as medicinal plants increases the ownership.
• To use the indigenous plants in the parks replacing the foreign and vicious plants.
• To establish the nurseries involving the poor women and generating employment for them.
• Park should create the heeling effect in addition to aesthetic value.
• To create model for emulation in all the Urban Local Bodies.

Activity:

Initially the compound wall of the Indira Park is restored under the Parks and Playgrounds scheme. The walking paths are also established. The earlier crotan plants are removed. It is aimed to have a herbal park .The plants are collected in the following way:
Addasaram and shatavari plants are provided by sri.Suresh Jakotia, an ayurvedic doctor hailing from kodad. The rest of the plants are taken from the compost yard of suryapet municipality.
The following saplings are planted.
Addasaram (400 plants), lemon gross (100 plants), Alovera, Shatavari, Alastonia, Ranapala (50 plants), Pipal, Neem, Tulasi, almond, oma(vamu) Nalleru (quadrus rectangulus), Usiri (5 plants), mehandi (100 plants),vavili,etc.

At later stages,new plants are brought from the Nalgonda territorial nursery and social forestry and planted are as follows:
Territorial-Jeedi,teni, arjuna.
Social forestry- red sanders, maredu,bamboo.

The plants that are brought from the K.v.k.gaddipalli are as follows:
Kolias, Machipatri, vasa, dumparastram,turmeric,etc.

On 24th October, 2011, one block is filled with rose and all the following flowering plants in other block, which also have medicinal values, are as follows:

Hibiscus (2 varieties), satyanarayana plant(2 varieties),chemanthi(3 varieties),night queen, malle,krisna tulasi, devakanchanam, small amla. One small block of guntagaragara is also planted on the same day. After the above plantation, the rain has visited the suryapet as usual, which increased the sustainability opportunities of plants.

Again sri.Suresh Jakotia has come to rescue and sent more than 15 varieties of seeds to take up plantation. They are as follows:
chitrakamulam, nilaxani, single seed garlic(Kashmir variety), madhavilatha, dhathura,ashwagandha, ramaphalam,guriginja, vruddhadharu, bixia(hanuman sindhuri), Jammi.

The nutritional plants such as curry leaves, drumstick, almond, jamun, and guava are also planted.

In the later stages, training is conducted to poor women in propagation of medicinal plants and preparation of traditional medicines, so as to bring awareness in Ayurveda with the help of Aurabindo training centre, Gaddipally. The school children are also invited to have a look at it and emulate the same in their back yard. Some plants are distributed for propagation to the interested. In the recent past, the wet waste generated out of it is converting in to the vermin compost in the same park in a de-centralized way.

Specialties:

• The crotans are thoroughly removed and replaced with addasaram.
• It would be filled with all the herbal plants in future also.
• The propagation of the most of the plants is very easy, there by cause increment in greenery.
• Neem and papal are planted jointly as both together will give healing air, with maximum quantity of oxygen.
• In addition to this, the old plants were also protected or relocated.Those are as follows:
Thippa tega, ratnapur plant, shankapushpi,parijatham, sampenga, avise.

Outcomes:
• Many people from other places are also visiting to know and have some plants.
• It increased the greenery in town.
• It imparted the knowledge of alternate medicine amongst poor.
• Bio-diversity is upkeep.
• It exhibited that ayurvedic plants can be used as ornamental plants.
• News papers expressed it as model for emulation.

Pro-poor policies in water supply

Aim: The poor shall not suffer with spiraling price rises. He is the priority of the Government. His needs should be catered in the Urban Planning and governance.

Activity: The tap connections were given to poor people on low cost (donations), which were higher earlier and modified as per the instructions of the Government. The connections given @1200 are 2474 in number. The connections given @200 are 2799 in number. Giving the connections to poor is taken up in true spirit.

All the slum areas are connected with the water supply pipe lines. The duration of supply of water is on par with the non-slum areas.The construction of tanks are also taken near to the poor localities.

Government has instructed to run the water supply on no loss and no profit basis. The tariff has to be increased. But poor cannot bare much burden. Hence, only 20 rupees per month is increased from 60 Rupees. Where as tariff for poor is 100 rupees per month.

For the benefit of poor, single day disposal of tap connections are initiated in Indiramma colony. From the clerk to commissioner and chairperson was sitting on the same table and disposing the applications accordingly on the same day in the locality of the beneficiaries.

Three days earlier to the programme, an IEC campaign was conducted with the help of local plumbers to submit the applications of the residents. The Building license surveyors are also summoned to sketch the drawings expeditiously and without expecting much from the poor people. This made the things easier for all the poor people in accommodating in the new colony. They need pray or beg or represent from table to table at least for 15 days, which is prescribed under the citizen charter.



Outcomes:

• Quality water is available to poor on low cost. Otherwise, the expenditure on purchase of water would go up.
• It also ensures the health of the poor, as water is source of many ill- healths.
• The saved money can be spent on other activities such as education, nutrition, etc.
• It has over all impact on the quality life of poor.

One shot many birds

Background: What would cater the nutritional needs of the poor people perennially? It is the question raised by commissioner after implementing the kitchen gardens, consequent to spiraling price rise of vegetables. Many people are not able to eat two curries a day. The hybrid seeds are short lived, giving a lot of gap in between. Also the seeds can not be gifted continuously. Which plant give more yield and

Similarly, How to decrease the plastic material in the hotels and Tiffin centers? How to decrease the cost of leaflets to increase the consumption? How to stop the transportation to some extent of them from far off places?

How to protect the environment by adding economic value to plants? How to enthuse the poor people to participate in the environmental protection activities? How to generate income in selling the seedlings easily? Where the propagation of seedlings is easier and faster?

How to stop the water logging in the areas like suryapet, where more tanks are exists in the town?

All the above questions are answered with a single plant that is Banana (curry variety).

Sponsors: Once again the “Council for Green Revolution” has come to the rescue of Suryapet Municipality and provided 2000 Banana plants, in addition to 1000 other nutritional and ornamental plants. These plants were brought from Kadium Nursery. The transportation is provided once again by Meela satyanarayana, ex-chairperson, suryapet Municipality.

Activity: The poor areas are selected, so as distribute the plants in clusters such as Indiramma colony, B.V.Colony,sainikpuri,etc. This enables to cut down leafs to supply them to the intended hotels, etc. In the selection process, the water logging areas and areas around the tanks are also given priority. The areas around the hotels are also given the priority to easy transport. Some philanthropic persons and organizations are also given banana plants, so as to supply the seedlings easily.

Superstition: There were myths among the people that whether banana plant can be had in front of the house as it is told to be harmful by elders. Commissioner has to explain that he has banana plants in his house and nothing has happened. Some people have their homes in banana farms and they are becoming millionaires. Many people use banana plants in every day prayer. If nothing is happened to them, nothing would happen to us also.

Expected outcomes:

• Consumption of plastic would go down with the easily available banana leafs locally.
• The pollution of transportation of leaves would be also go down from far off places.
• Environment is protected with more number of plant populations.
• It would continuously increase the greenery in surrounding areas.
• Mosquito population would go down with decrease in water logging.
• It would provide additional curry for many poor with low cost and it would show impact on prices of vegetables.
• Nutritional levels of many poor would be increased.