Bamboo village project stone laid in Una

UNA, JUNE 8

Rural Development Minister Virender Kanwar today laid the foundation stone of the bamboo village project in Ghandawal village of Una district.

A sum of Rs 4 crore will be spent on the infrastructure which will include a bamboo processing unit for manufacturing various products made from bamboo, training halls with boarding and lodging facilities, a cafeteria, souvenir shops, a bamboo park and a bamboo nursery, besides two water bodies on a 700-square metre plot on the Una-Dharamsala highway.

Kanwar said the civil works would be done by the HPSIDC within six months. Bamboo India, a national expert agency, would provide technical knowhow, machinery and training to local artisans. Preference would be given to bamboo produced in Himachal.

Deputy Commissioner Raghav Sharma said bamboo tooth brush handles would be one of the main items to be produced here. Under the ‘go green’ initiative, plastic products were gradually being replaced by natural products and 8 per cent of the tooth brush market had switched over to bamboo brushes.

He said about 40 different species of bamboo would be planted at the bamboo oxygen park where people could enjoy the nature.

The DC said the Swan Women Federation, a groupe of about 12,500 rural women working in Una district, had been handed over the responsibility of running, maintaining and sustaining the bamboo village project. He said the federation would utilize its social and financial resources to sustain the project, initially for 10 years, adding that an MoU had been signed with the federation.

General Manager of the District Industries Centre Anshul Dhiman, Swan Women Federation president Anuranjana Sharma, general secretary Raman Kumari, Chief Executive Officer Dr RK Dogra and Block Development Officer Raman Veer were also present.

Earlier, Virender Kanwar distributed laptops to 280 meritorious students of the district at Government Senior Secondary School, Samoor Kalan, where CM Jai Ram Thakur’s address was telecast live from the state-level function at Mandi. Student Tanya, who was also given a laptop, interacted with the CM during the live telecast.

Bamboo tooth brush handles main item

• Rs 4 cr will be spent on the infrastructure
• The civil works will be done by the HPSIDC within six months
• Bamboo tooth brush handles will be one of the main items to be produced
• 40 species of bamboo will be planted at the bamboo oxygen park