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GUWAHATI: In India, our forest of bamboos are grown in an area of about fourteen million hectares and our country stands second richest country in terms of bamboo genetic resources after China with the production of 3.23 million tons per year. The Bamboo which is also referred to as the poor man's timber is the fastest growing plant and belongs to Poaceae (Gramineae), the grass family. The Bamboos are the significant forest spices and distributed in a wide range across our nation. It is responsible for the contribution of our country's rural economic development.
North-Eastern states of India possess a huge variety of Bamboo resources which play a crucial part in the food and nutritional security of the tribal region. About fifty per cent of the bamboo species are grown in North-East states i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and in the Western Ghats.
During a 'Man Ki Baat' program held last year, the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi highlighted the value addition to bamboo products in Assam, Tripura, and Manipur with the aim of making the country 'Atmanirbhar'.
He said, "Skilled artisans are making bottles, tiffin boxes, and various other essential products with the bamboo in Assam, Tripura, and Manipur. These products made with bamboo are of high quality and very useful", "The north-eastern States have been growing the precious resources of bamboo. If anyone studies the bottles, tiffin boxes, and various other essential products, they would not believe that these very helpful products are made of bamboo. Besides, these bamboo-made products are very environment friendly and hygienic," he added.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his Tripura and Manipur counterparts Biplab Kumar Deb and N Biren Singh thanked the Prime Minister for highlighting the usefulness and significance of bamboo-made products and pledged to encourage the 'Vocal for Local' initiative.
The Central Government has decided to set up the first Bamboo Industrial Park in the Northeast in Dima Hasao district for tapping the immense potential of the bamboo sector in the State. Once completed, the Park, covering an area of 75 hectares, will contribute to the overall economic development of the State apart from developing the bamboo-based industries. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal hailed the decision of setting up the Bamboo Industrial Park which would go a long way in realizing the goal of Atmanirbhar Assam in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. In Assam bamboo is grown in a forest area of 7,238km2.
The Arunachal Pradesh administration has finally decided to go vocal about it -- by embracing locally-made bamboo products!
Deputy Commissioner of Arunachal's Changland district Devensh Yadav tweeted previous year, "Two Bamboo sofa sets supplied today by our local SHG group for panchayat halls. Recent Arunachal Pradesh policy to buy office items from local SHGs and other groups realized on the ground". Yadav in his tweet informed that the next step will be the expansion of the bamboo handicraft units for bulk production.
Konsam Romesh Singh from Awang Jiri Maning Leikai in Imphal West district has caught the attention of many for his innovative crafts made out of bamboo. He bagged the Merit Award for Outstanding Craftsperson of the Year 2019-2020 award for the unique mobile phone tripod made out of bamboo. DoNER Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh took to Twitter to congratulate the young talent and posted a tutorial video on how he designed the bamboo tripod.
In what can be termed as a true example of the Atma Nirbhar (self-reliant) mode of progress as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, educated unemployed youths from the Kiphire district of Nagaland have opened a barbershop in a bamboo shanty. The group of youths, calling itself the 'Educated Unemployed Bloc' of Kiphire, through this simple measure, seeks to eke out a living in the midst of the nationwide economic collapse triggered by the coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown.
Hence, For North-Eastern states of India, bamboo is no longer called the "Poor Man's Timber" but it is referred to as the "Green Gold" since it is now considered as industrial raw material that has the capacity to bring economic prosperity to any nation in the globalized market.