RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Sept.11: Tulsi brew, which helped prevent prisoners from the corona pandemic in Birsa Munda Central Jail, during the first and the second waves of Covid-19 was expected to come for sale in the open market by now but so far it could not be materialized.
An insider informed this saying it was due to a lack of proper business planning of the jail administration.
“Last year only 2000 saplings of Tulsi were planted and at that time it was said that the amount is not sufficient to prepare brew to market outside the jail. But despite having 4000 saplings by now, work is yet to be started,” the insider said.
Jail superintendent Hamid Akhtar confirmed that Tulsi brew from jail is yet to reach for sale in the open market but denied a lack of proper market planning for the same. He held limited production as a reason.
“The leaves from the Tulsi plant are sufficient enough for use inside the jail. There is no surplus to supply outside though we are intentional for them,” Akthar said.
Last year till September, the Tulsi brew had helped cure 275 prisoners recover from Covid-19 and in the second wave of the corona pandemic this year the Tulsi brew had come as a great help.
Initially, 2000 Ocimum tenuiflorum (synonym Ocimum sanctum), commonly known as holy basil or Tulsi, were planted in the jail premises after the prisoners in big numbers were tested positive. Idea was to use its leaf to prepare brew to boost the immunity of prisoners.
The plantation was done following the suggestion of the AYUSH ministry in April last year to provide Karha (brew) using tulsi and sonth (dry ginger) or adrak (ginger). While planting the jail superintendent Akhtar also had planned to produce 100ml pouches of brew using Tulsi and then using it for business. The idea behind the business was to help add something to the prisoner’s welfare fund, which was used to purchase saplings.
The prison is spread over a 68-acre area. It has the capacity to house 3,200 prisoners comfortably. Constructed at a cost of Rs 34 crore, it has a 200-bed hospital along with an open-air auditorium. Its 15 male wards can house 200 prisoners each while the two wards kept for women can hold up to 100 prisoners each.
Vaidya Amitabh Kumar, M.D(Ayurved) and dean of the Department of Ayurveda, Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag, said that if marketing is done it will be of great help sharing medicinal values of the plant.
“Sweet basil is propagated from seeds. Seeds are sown in the spring. Its bushy annual herb is about 1 m high. It flowers from June to September. The parts collected for the drug market are flowering shoots which are cut off several centimeters above the ground and dried either in the sun in a well-ventilated space or by artificial heat and temperature not exceeding 45° C.Fresh leaves are also collected and used for culinary purposes. The essential oil is generally distilled from the fresh shoots,” Vaidya Kumar said.
Asked about characteristics and uses, Vaidya Kumar said: “Sweet basil is a bushy aromatic herb with the brittle branched stem. Leaves are oval, shiny, fleshy, and fragile with dark green colour. Flowers are creamy-white or mauve having whorls. The herb has an agreeable spicy odour and an aromatic taste.”
“In Ayurveda, tulsi is known as “Mother Medicine of Nature”, and popular for both its medicinal and spiritual properties. Within India, tulsi has been adopted into spiritual rituals and lifestyle practices that provide a vast array of health benefits that are just beginning to be confirmed by modern science. This emerging science on tulsi, which reinforces ancient Ayurvedic wisdom, suggests that tulsi is a tonic for the body, mind and spirit that offers solutions to many modern-day health problems,” he added.
