Indore's Holkar College Hosts National Workshop On Urban Forests And RET Plants

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A two-day national workshop on ‘Development of Urban Forest, Nursery Management and Conservation of Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET) Plant Species’ commenced at Government Holkar (Model Autonomous) Science College.

The event is organised by the departments of Horticulture and Microbiology in collaboration with Vijnana Bharati.

The programme began with Saraswati Vandana presented by students. Tribal healers from various parts of Madhya Pradesh were honoured by the World Book of Records, London, for their ethnomedicinal knowledge. Research papers documenting their traditional practices have also been published, bringing wider recognition to their contributions.

MPPSC Chairman Rajesh Lal Mehra attended as chief guest, while Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya Vice-Chancellor Rakesh Singhai presided over the inaugural session. SAIMS founder chairman Vinod Bhandari and World Book of Records, London, CEO Santosh Shukla attended as special guests.

Retired PCCF PC Dubey, former principal chief commissioner of Income Tax Patanjali Jha and Forest Department range officer SK Billore delivered keynote addresses highlighting biodiversity conservation. During the discussions, Jha referred to plants such as black turmeric and their potential therapeutic value, including research into cancer treatment.

National head of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram Girish Kuber and Shivkant Vijayvargiya were present along with Indore forest circle officer Lal Sudhakar. Principal Anamika Jain welcomed the guests. Workshop coordinator Sanjay Vyas informed participants that a field study visit to Ralamandal Sanctuary is scheduled on Sunday.