Uttar Pradesh government to set up Arogya Vatika in all schools: Report

NEW DELHI: The Uttar Pradesh government has asked all secondary schools in the state to set up ‘Arogya Vatika’ in the school premises, as per a Hindustan Times report.

The decision was taken on the order of Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who is also in-charge of the secondary education department, in an attempt to ensure the well-being of students and their parents, the report said.

"We have decided to set up Arogya Vatika in all secondary schools of the state. It will not only help conserve the environment, but also can help boost immunity and well-being of students and their families," Sharma said.

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The idea of establishing Arogya Vatika was popularised by a local journalist Sudhir Mishra, who with the help of his newspaper has been running a campaign to create such gardens in parks, police stations, schools, and other places, Sharma said, as per the report.

Mishra has been running the campaign for two years and he said that he invited the district administration, police department, and ministers to join the campaign, the report said.

Mishra further said that during one such campaign last month, Deputy CM Sharma liked the idea and ordered its implementation in all secondary schools of the state, the report said.

Director Education, Vinay Kumar Pandey has issued an order to this end instructing all District Inspectors of schools to identify places to establish these medicinal plants.

"A place should be identified in all secondary schools in the premises and a teacher should be named to look after the garden after planting medicinal plants," Pandey said in the order, the report said.

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"Plants like Tulsi, Giloy, Ashwagandha, stevia, lemon grass, Indian gooseberry, khas, Guava, Haldi, Sandal, Sahjan and many more should be planted as they help boost the immunity," the order said, as per the report.

Students should be made aware about medicinal values of the plants through these gardens, and should be encouraged to plant them at their homes too, it added, according to the report.