Singanallur police station, off the busy Tiruchi Road, is different from others for a unique reason. The station houses a herbal garden with 75 varieties of medicinal plants.
Visitors are also welcomed to take a walk through the herbal garden which is maintained by the police personnel who find time for medicinal plants even amidst their busy work schedule.
“The main idea behind establishing the herbal garden is to create awareness among people about the importance of understanding medicinal plants, their medicinal properties and the need to conserve them. Most of these herbs can be planted in spaces available around houses or in pots. They could be used for various home remedies,” says inspector P. Arun, the station house officer.
The herbal plants were collected from different places and are carefully grown in the garden located on the right side of the station entrance. Visitors who wait at the reception to meet offers are encouraged to take a walk through the garden.
Name board has been placed for each medicinal plant which mentions its Tamil name, botanical name and medicinal use. For the common Adathodai plant (Adhatoda vasica), the name board says it could be used as a remedy for cough.
The plants at the garden even include Strobilanthes ciliatus (Chinnakurinji) belonging to the same family of Strobilanthes kunthiana (Neelakurinji) which is used for its anti-inflammatory properties.
Mr. Arun added that personnel working at the station and even visitors were free to use plants at the herbal garden for traditional home remedies if needed, depending on the availability of leaves, flowers, etc. Started as the outpost of Sulur police station in 1943, the Singanallur station also has a flower garden and a mini library of about 600 books.
