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Among the Mountain ranges in thedistrict of Bargarh the Gandhamardan range isa famous one. It is replete with forest productsand minerals of different types. The scenicbeauty of the place is simply incomparable.Several streams have been flowing out of themountain rocks. It is a holy place as well as atourist spot. In this mountain range the famousshrine the Sri Sri Nrusinghanath Temple issituated on the side of the district of Bargarhwhile on the side of Bolangir that of Sri SriHarishankar exists. This mountain range standsas a high wall on the South-East direction ofBargarh district and extends towards the North – West direction of district of Bolangir. It issituated between 20°49’ and 20°56’ NorthLongitude and between 82°45’ and 82°55’ EastLatitude. It is about 120km. Away from Bargarhtown. There are manymountains big andsmall in the area withtheir minimum heightat 320M andMaximum at 1060M.The rock type of thearea is of Metamorphic type, of whichKondalite is the mostcommon. At someplaces occurrences oflayers of quartzite andBauxite are reported. In the mountain tops red-white metallic rocks and rocks with traces of irondo occur.The forestrange in this areagets its annualrainfall by theMonsoon where theaverage rainfall is1500mm. Thenorthern part of itgets more rainfallthan the southernpart. In this areasummer sets in

Biodiversity map of Eastern GhatPaikmal

Satelite image of Gandhamardan

By Netra Bhanu Pradhan

Gandhamardan – A treasure House of Medical PlantsGandhamardan – A treasure House of Medical Plants

Biodiversity is an umbrella term andrefers to the variety and variabilityof all life in the planet. In practice it refers to allspecies of plants,animals and micro-organisms,the ecosystems and ecological processes ofwhich they are parts. Scientifically biodiversityis considered at threedifferent levels: Speciesdiversity (this also includes the interactionsbetween individuals of a species and betweendifferent species), Geneticdiversity (variationsin the genetic constitution of individuals of aspeciesand between different species), andEcosystem diversity (grasslands,forests,aquatic bodies etc.). In effect these three levelscannot beseparated as a change at one level canbring changes at the other levels.The importance ofbiodiversity lies with the fact that it forms theresourcebase for agriculture, forestry, medicine and provides,food,fodder, wood and fiber, many other utilitymaterials to mankind and provides ecosystemservices like pollination, nutrient cycling, air and waterpurification, climate modification, drought and floodcontrol etc. and has recreational, aesthetic andspiritual value for man. In view ofthis, the livingresources (biodiversity) is to be carefully managedandconserved for us and for our future generations.

Netrabhanu Pradhan

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around March with the temperature level at 34°Cand the Mercury rises up to 42°C around May-June. In winter the maximum temperature is25°C. While the minimum is 6°C. The humidityof the area is 85% or slightly more.Due to its geographic diversification onecan find a verity of Eco-systems in the areasustaining different types of plant speciesdepending on the nature of the Eco-systems.These species of plants are found here withdifferent varieties. Therefore, theGandhamardana has always attractedscientists interested in the study of plants. Evenwhen the are was inaccessible, British Scientistsand Botanists H.H. Haynes (1921-25) hadidentified several species of plants in this area.After 25 years i.e. in 1950 Herbert Munivisited this place and located 17 new speciesof plants. Later on renowned Oriya Botanist andScientist of the Botanical Survery of India Dr.Gopinath Panigrahi (1963) published researchpaper on 125 species of precious medicinal plantsavailable in the Gandhamardan. His paper wasbased on an extensive study made by him in thisarea. Realizing the rich potentiality of the areafor containing more varieties of medicinal plants,Dr. Gopinath Panighrhi re-visited the place onceagain in 1964 along with a group of his associateswho collected 300 varieties of species and herbsavailable in this area and prepared a catalogueon the basis of it. In 1990 M.Brahmam and HariOm Saxena surveyed on the plants ofGandhamardan and identified 200 species ofplants out of which the usefulness of 77 speciesof plants in the treatment of common ailmentswere highlighted. Again, in 1995 Saxena andBrahmam surveyed in the area of Gandhamardanand enlisted 781 plants species available there.R.C. Mishra (1990,1994,1996) worked in thismountain range and illustrated 920 species ofplants. In the year 1994 P. Bilung, P.N. Pradhanand R.N. Pradhan Dept. of Botany, PanchayatCollege, Bargarh have surveyed the area andreport the use of local Mahura plants from Araceifamily. In 1999 N.B. Pradhan, R.N. Pradhan,P.Sahu and S.K. Sen made a detailed survey ofthe area and highlighted on many rare medicinalplants have shown concern about the decreasingpopulation of these plants. The Vesaja Samity ofNrusinghnath, Padampur has been educatingpeople on the plants and herbs available inGandhamardan since 1994 and also organizingthe Baidyas of the district of Bargarh and helpingthem in the proper identification of the medicinalplants. Sri Sri Nrusinghnath Ayurvedic College

Orissa host rich biodiversity invariety habitats. The largest Ramsarsites (Brackish water Chilka lake and the man-grove forests of Bhitarkanika), which attract thelargest population of migratory birds from verydistant lands, the largest egg laying beaches ofGahirmatha for Olive Ridley Sea turtles, someof India’s closed green forests, floral and faunaldiversity of Similipal biosphere, rich medicinalplants in Similipal and Gandhamardan forestranges and many tribal races of people are alsofound in the state of Orissa.Orissa is by and large underlain byprecambrian rocks. However, geological for-mations of all ages are represented in the state andtheimportant rock types belong to Eastern Ghats(Archean age), Iron Ore Group (Paleo-Proterozoicage), Koira-Similipal Group (Meso-proterozoic age),Gangpur and Kolhan Group (Neoproterozoic age),Vinhdyan Platform cover (Epi-proterozoic age),Gandwana Group (Upper pateozoic to middlemesozoic age), Baripada Beds (Mio-plioene age andother geological formations of Pleistocene and recentage arescattered all over the state.

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and Research Institute in collaboration with theDepartment of Botany, Panchayat College,Bargarh have undertaken a Joint Venture inmaking a detailed survey of the area, identificationand cataloguing of the plants and preparation of‘herboriams’.In the recent past a BanaspatiBana Prakalpa ( 2003 ) has been launched bythe Department of Forest and Environment, Govt.of Orissa, with assistance from the Govt. of India.The Project is making rapid strides under thesupervisions of the Divisional Forest Officers ofBargarh and Bolangir Range. It is hoped that withthe successful implementation of the project, itwould contribute a lot in the protection,preservation and expansion of the plants.Many survey works have been undertakenunder the supervision of both the Department ofForest and the SSN Ayurvedic College,Nrusinghnath. One of the reports reveals thatthere is rapid deforestation in this area. Theseplants which were easily available in the post havebecome rare. Gandhamardan range of mountainthat extended upto 1800 sq. k.m. was fully ofdense forest and was replete with herbs andmedicinal plants. But out of them several specieshave become rare. These include Barun, Kochila,Manjusha, Panki, Paldhua, Sunamukhi, Tamul,Bal Harida, Bhumi Kusmanda etc. Growingdeforestation of Amla, Kuturi, Gudmari,Chhatiana, Meda, Bidanga is still underway. Butall is not lost. There is still hope that as even nowalso one can find in the scrub forest living stumpsof different species of plants. It is hoped that ifthe free entry of human intruders and themovement of stray cattles are prevented, greenplants will again raise their heads covering thesurface of the rock and the jungle will get backits lost luster and greenery.Bhramarmariis a much talked aboutmedicinal plant. It iswell known forcontaining curativeproperties for diseaseslike leprosy. The nameof the tree suggeststhat a number ofBharamar (black-bee0fall dead under it. It is

Geographical area of BargarhDistrictis 5834 squire K.M. Out ofwhich Reserve forest cover 583.52 squireK.M area while 0.13 squire K.M area belongto un reserve forest . As per 2001 FSI report423 squire K.M area of Bargarh districtcovered with dance forest , and 481 squireK.M area by open forest , hence total forestarea of Bargarh District is 904 squire K.M .% of shrub is 15.49% .

The

Eastern Ghats

are a discontinuous rangeof mountains along India’s eastern coast. TheEastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north,through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu inthe south. They are eroded and cut through by the fourmajor rivers of southern India, the Godavari, Mahanadi,Krishna, and Kaveri. The mountain ranges run parallelto the Bay of Bengal. The Deccan Plateau lies to thewest of the range, between the Eastern Ghats andWestern Ghats. The coastal plains lies between theeastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. The Eastern Ghatsare not as high as the Western Ghats.