BHAWANIPATNA: Dhanvantari Jayanti (National Ayurveda Day) was celebrated at the nurseries of Forest department at Jaring and Kikia on Saturday. On the occasion, Vaidya Sammilani was organised at the venues where traditional herbal practitioners from different parts of the district congregated. At the Vaidya Sammilani, organised by Aswini Kumar Vaidya Sangh at Jaring, the ‘vaidyas’ stressed the need for recognising and encouraging traditional medicine practitioners.
They expressed concern over depletion of forest cover owing to which several herbal plant species are now endangered. A herbal medicine journal ‘Kalahandi ra parampara o loka chikichha’, published by Aswini Kumar Vaidya Sangh, was released. As many as 15 dedicated herbal medicine practitioners were felicitated at the function. Kalahandi is bestowed with a rich bio-diversity and as per International Union for Conservation of Nature, 37 of the 41 endangered medicinal plants of the State are found in the district.