Nepal’s medicinal herbs can cure "Cancer"

-Kishori Mahato, VC, Natural Flower and herbal Company

As the luck would have it, I happened to enter into the village where I was myself born well after a lapse of some twenty-five years. The existing conditions of the village made me to weep. Things, as I could see it myself, were as if we lived in the medieval age. Roads dilapidated. Temples gave an appearance that it were a sort of ruins. Lack of education and health facilities and above all the prevalence of abject poverty, all put together made me to take a sort of oath that henceforth I would do whatever was possible to do for the upliftment of the village which gave me birth.

Thus began my endless journey to the social service sector which fortunately continues till today. Let me tell you that my service is not limited to my village only. If I conclude that this or that sector needed my support, I do that. However, I am just a new entrant into this sector. I am just learning how to be of support to the needy ones. It’s my modest service in the larger interest of the people and the nation. And I must tell you that I do all these not to bag sympathies from the people. Nor do I have nourished any hope of being a leader at a later stage.

My involvement in the social services is just above five years. In the process, I have had the opportunity to erect the temple of Lord Hanuman on over thirteen districts. I believe in Hinduism. However, I respect other religions as well.

As regard politics, my contention is that it is political process that we need to have. But then today’s politics is like a patient awaiting surgical operation and that too immediately. The triangular sort of politics initiated by three different political actors, I suppose, consider that they could win the game in their favor. They all are in sheer illusion. They are agitating. They have the guns with them. The government is also trying to suppress the agitation. However, what I don’t understand is that why there is a disagreement of the agitating parties to the stipulations of a constitution, which they themselves drafted some thirteen years ago? Does it fall under the ambit of the constitution to deride at the King and the monarchy? The agitators must now think twice prior to condemning the monarch who is a symbol of national unity. The King has over and again reiterated that he is committed to democratic ideals and only recently in Pokhara he has appealed all the political parties to go to the polls and thus restore the derailed constitution if it were any.

I wish the political parties participated in the polls as desired by the monarch and form a government of their choice which would later initiate talks with the Maoists. That way peace could be restored.

To me, the Maoists insurgency did originate itself from the sheer failures of those who steered the country for all along these thirteen democratic years. The insurgency is the outcome of the political parties’ arrogance and corrupt practices they acquired when in power and grossly neglected the aspirations of those who needed their care most. However, the men in the government did not take their grievances seriously and hence the eruption of the insurgency. However, I beg to differ with the republican demands of the Maoists. The fact is that the constitution does not have any space for such demands. What they wish could well be acquired from the 1990 constitution itself. If this is so, the demand of the republican order becomes totally redundant. Any way this is my personal analysis which not necessarily should tally with others.

As regards the Maoists’ preference for the UN mediation in the talks with the government, I wish to differ with their theory. Since it is an internal problem and an exclusively a Nepali issue and thus could be sorted out amicably within ourselves. Let’s begin talks and invite competent facilitators. Let’s not depend on others for our problems. However, care must be taken that the while the talks continue, let’s not exhibit our own rigid stance. It should be a talk in between Nepalese. No question should arise as who should be a victor or the one defeated. We all will win if the talks succeed. Similarly, we all will have to embrace defeat, if the talks fail.

Talking of the national issues, as I see it and have gone through the trauma, what I think is that the State must come up with laws and regulations that are business and industry friendly. At times, I come across certain bureaucratic hurdles which I should have not.

I run two Herbal Factories both located in Hetaunda. My enterprise totally depend on natural materials which are being collected from the mountains. This means that my factories get raw materials exclusively from within the country itself for its production. The factories are "Natural Flower and herbal Pvet. Ltd. The other is Machapuchre Natural Herbs Limited, both located in Hetaunda.

In effect, my factories have been on the run for the production of certain exclusive herbal medicines that could cure deadly Cancer. The objective is to show the world that Nepali medicines were good enough to treat cancer patients. Till now we have been able to produce "semi-processed" extracts from the Nepali herbs which could well be used for the treatment of Breast and Uterus cancer. We have been selling at good prices the herbal "extracts" to countries in the developed West and fortunately they are interested in buying our products.

What we produce is as follows: Texin Resin; 10-Deacetyl Baccatin III; Camptothecin; Podophyllotoxin; Hyoscine N-ButylBromide; Resperine and Colchicine. The company is soon going to start the commercial production of 10-DABIII, a precursor to anti-Cancer drug peclitaxel. Later other anti-Cancer molecules will follow the production. We have had enough research works on these molecules mentioned above.

The Nepal government has provided us with a license to collect such herbs for ten years. We are entitled to collect somewhat 12, 000 Metric Tones of the herbs each year. However, at times the government’s rules impede our job. For example, we need to work with two line ministries: the ministry of forest and ministry of environment. If the forest ministry gives us clearance, the other ministry takes lot of time to provide us their clearance. It is here that we get lost and the nation faces a loss which is colossal.

The tragedy is that the King is in favor of the promotion of herbal medicines in the country. The government is not clear on how to proceed in fulfilling the King’s desire. The reality is that our factory could come to a grinding halt if the government does not sympathize on our pressing issues and that too immediately.

And it’s not free indeed. We pay government tax to the tune of three crores annually. About two thousand people have been working in our two factories. The nineteen districts, which we are allowed to collect herbs, do employ a lot of unemployed youths and household ladies. The districts include the areas which are the strongholds of the insurgents as well.

Yet another investment I am thinking is about producing Incense sticks right here in our own country utilizing our own raw materials. We import incense sticks from India to the tune of forty five crores. The day we begin our production, the import from India will come to a total halt. We possess all the ingredients that are demanded to produce incense sticks. This is an added advantage.

If policies are good, I assure each and every Nepali citizen that we can within ten years of time can generate employment for not less than one million people.

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