Himachal to set up bamboo village in Una, will create jobs for youth
Himachal Pradesh government will promote the bamboo craft by setting up a bamboo village in Una district to uplift the economy of rural areas
The Himachal Pradesh government will promote the bamboo craft by setting up a bamboo village to create employment opportunities for youth and uplift the economy of rural areas.
Rural development minister Virender Kanwar said the bamboo village would be set up on 24-Kanal land at Boul village in Una district under the National Bamboo Mission.
The village will be set up with a cost of ₹1.17 crore with technical assistance from Pune-based “Bamboo India” which would transform bamboo reeds into a variety of products by promoting an eco-friendly industry.
“The project aims at boosting the livelihood of unemployed rural youths by providing professional training in the art of making hand fans, furniture, dustbins, tea mugs, wall hangings, home decor and flower pots,” said Kanwar.
He said the government would sponsor free training camps in bamboo-based handicrafts to around 500 village youths to enable local artisans to adapt their creativity as per the demands of the market and get a good price for their products.
“The government will also set up bamboo furniture manufacturing unit at a cost of ₹22 lakh,” said the minister, adding that the authorities had shortlisted a hybrid species of an oxygen-releasing bamboo tree named “beema bamboo”, which will be planted across the state.
He said an oxygen park with beema bamboo would be established with an estimated cost of ₹40 lakh at Boul village.
Kanwar said besides releasing oxygen, the beema bamboo had the capacity to absorb 80 tonnes of carbon dioxide per acre every year.
One matured beema bamboo after four years absorbs more than 400 kg of carbon dioxide annually from the surrounding areas. The special bamboo clone is developed by a conventional breeding method that does not involve genetically modified organisms (GMO), he said.
Apart from it, he said, the bamboo plantation would be done across the state to get raw material round the year. Local farmers would be given bamboo seeds for free, while bamboo would be planted on open and barren lands under the National Bamboo Mission.
A bamboo natural park will also be set up to conserve, protect and promote bamboo species available in the state and educate people about these verities and their usages.
“The bamboo village will act as an institution by introducing the latest technologies in bamboo processing, skill-building, employment generation and changing the economic and industrial scenario of the entire state,” he said.