By Sujit ChakrabortyAgartala, Feb 28 : After Rashtrapati Bhavan and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Tripura’s eco-friendly bamboo products or bamboo artifacts are now expected to be used in the construction of the new Parliament building which is underway in the national capital.
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari while talking to the Lok Sabha Member from Tripura Rebati Tripura said that the bamboo products from the state are likely to be used in the new Parliament House.
“I have given Gadkari ji some value added bamboo products like bottle, basket, mobile stand.Then I have proposed to him to utilise Tripura bamboo in a larger way as the bamboo products are very eco-friendly, heat resistant and sustainable that would serve many purposes and won’t cause any harm unlike those products made of plastic and iron materials,” Tripura said.
“Gadkari readily accepted my proposal and assured me to take appropriate steps with the builder of the Parliament House,” the teacher-turned-parliamentarian told IANS over phone from Delhi.
He said that he and the Union Minister unanimously agreed that if the Tripura bamboo was used in the Parliament building it would be a perfect case of Prime Minister Narendra Modi vision – “Vocal for Local”.
Tripura, who represent Tripura East parliamentary constituency, said that already the bamboo tiles (Bamboowood) made from Tripura bamboo are being used in a large scale manner across the country and appreciated by all for its positive utility and effectiveness.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 10 laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building which will be equipped with all modern audio visual communication facilities and data network systems — making it a symbol of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
The new Parliament building, one of the most magnificent buildings in the country, would be built in an area of 64,500 square metre at an estimated cost of Rs 971 crore and the building is to be completed in 2022.
The new Parliament is expected to be completed by the 75th anniversary of India’s independence in 2022 and will also hold the Winter Session.
When hundreds of domestic items and furniture are being made from the bamboo, the Mumbai based Mutha Industries Private Limited (MIPL) six year ago had set up a mega unit in India’s first ever bamboo park in western Tripura’s Bodhjungnagar industrial growth centre, 15 km north of Agartala.
From their processing and manufacturing unit, the MIPL has been producing 100 per cent eco-friendly ‘Bamboowood’ value added products for flooring, decking, wall cladding suitable with any building and homes besides for a variety of door materials and furniture.
These ‘Bamboowood’ products are perfect substitute to hardwood traditionally being used in any buildings, structures and homes.
An official of the company said that as the name suggests, their products are made from Bamboo – the fastest growing plant on the mother earth, are a renewable resource and look similar to hardwood of any matured tree.
“Our product — Epitome-Bamboowood — is not only an environment friendly alternative to hardwood but also saves felling of forest trees and protecting the environment.
“Our unit is the perfect example of the government’s ‘Make in India’ mission and also reinforces the ‘Act East Policy’.
Our company is the first organisation in the northeastern region having Zero Defect Zero Effect certified for the Bamboowood product.”
With ISO 9001 – 14001 – 18001 certified company, until now executed, provided and installed bamboowood products over 400 projects across India.
The moisture-resistant bamboowood products so far used in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister’s Office, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Delhi airports, Patna High Court, Samrat Ashoka Convention Centre in Patna and many other places.
“The MIPL’s Tripura processing and manufacturing unit provided direct employment to 200 local people, besides indirect employment to more than 500 men and women.We have also provided farmers of Tripura a ready market for the bamboo,” the official said.
Of the 1,250 bamboo species throughout the world, India has 145 of them.Bamboo forests in India occupy approximately 10.03 million hectares, and comprise about 12 per cent of the total forest area of the country.
About 28 per cent of these bamboo forests are located in northeast India.
Bamboo is also known as “green gold” in the mountainous northeastern region.
The Tripura government in 2009 had developed India’s first Bamboo Park at Bodhjungnagar industrial growth centre at a cost of Rs 30 crore on 100 acres of land to help expand bamboo-based industries.
(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians
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