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Three Bhutanese held with rare Himalayan herb

Three Bhutanese held with rare Himalayan herb

SNS, 20 August 2019, Alipurduar: The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the forest department apprehended three Bhutanese nationals with 5 kg of the Himalayan herb, locally called the 'Kheeda Jadi or 'Yarshagumba' worth Rs 1 crore 10 lakh, at the Jaigaon Market on the Indian side of the Indo -Bhutan border in Alipurduar district yesterday.
Personnel of the 53 Battalion of the SSB-Simlabari in Jaigaon and the Hamiltonganj forest range staff under the Buxa Tiger Reserve, acted jointly, following a tip -off, it is learnt.
The three arrested persons all residents of Thimpu in Bhutan, have been identified as Choten Namgyel, Dorji Kiang and Kumbu Dorji.
"The trio came in a luxury Toyota Land Cruiser Prado car with registration number BP-2-A6121 at the Jaigaon market to hand over the Himalayan herbs to someone." sources said.
The herb is considered half fungus, half insect, and is mainly found in the meadows above 3500 meters in the high altitudes of Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Tibet. The herb is also known as the'Himalayan Viagra' for its aphrodisiac qualities.Any type of trading in or collection of the herb is highly prohibited in India, it is learnt. "The herb has great value all across the world.As we do not want to make this valuable herb vanish, collection or trading in the same is highly prohibited n India. It grows with a combination of fungus and larva of an insect in the Himalayas," the former head of the Botany department of the North Bengal University, Abhaya Prasad Das, said.
"It is believed that one can increase the life span and can also increase the physical stamina by eating this rare herb." he added.
The arrested persons, the vehicle and the herbs have been handed over to the Hamiltonganj Range authority of the Buxa Tiger Reserve forest, it is learnt.
"The herbs were brought from Bhutan to India to be sold here. Based on specific inputs, SSB troops of the'C' company, along with forest staff conducted this raid. We have handed over the arrested persons along with the vehicle and the herbs to the forest authorities," said the Commandant of the 53 Battalion of the SSB, Arvind Kumar.

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