Staff Reporter
DIMNAPUR, SEPTEMBER 18
NAGALAND observed World Bamboo Day in Dimapur today with the government reiterating its commitment to harness the potential of bamboo and its benefits under the experienced guidance of the Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA). ‘Building Lives’ is the theme of the fourth World Bamboo Day. The objective is to promote bamboo as a resourceful medium in generating livelihood and encouraging entrepreneurship in the different aspects of the bamboo industry.
Addressing the inaugural programme of the two-day celebrations at the Nagaland Bamboo Resource Centre (NBRC), 6th Mile, Dimapur, the chief guest, MLA and advisor NBDA, Dr Longrineken underscored the importance of bamboo as an important resource in the socio-economic-ecological-climatic-functional context of Nagaland.
“Taking into account the huge potential in untapped skills and workmanship in the State, the agency has been working in a multi-pronged strategy of operation through the Cluster Development System covering all the 11 districts, and thereby envisaging bamboo as an instrument of poverty alleviation and employment generation particularly in the rural sector,” the NBDA advisor said.
It is estimated that 5% of the country’s bamboo growing stock is available in the State covering at 4,48,000 hectares (approx). The growing stock of bamboo in the country is estimated to be around 8.96 million hectares.
He maintained that the development of bamboo in the State is envisaged to be taken from the perspective of ‘Resource Development and Enterprise Development’. To this, he lauded the Nagaland Bamboo Mission (NBM) team for taking up entrepreneurial development projects and programmes around the State, and thereby establishing trained bamboo craftsmen and entrepreneurs wherever possible.
Sharing on the future prospects to develop bamboo resources, Dr Longrineken said the agency is focusing towards augmenting existing resources through scientifically managed plantations and regeneration. He further said that the agency would focus on technology outsourcing and dissemination, capacity building and skill up-gradation, infrastructural developments and marketing initiatives for enterprise development.
“Much has been achieved and yet we still have so much more that we can do,” he said while winding up the programme which lasted for barely 10 minutes.
The main features of this year’s celebration are sales and exhibition of various bamboo products, both household and decorative, collected from different parts of the State. An interesting feature for this year’s observance is the sale of traditional bamboo products.
To mark the day, the chief guest on his arrival hoisted the World Bamboo Day Flag. He also gave away awards to two individuals namely Pusheto Aye, a progressive farmer, and Lanu Wati, an entrepreneur/craftsman, for their achievements. He later inaugurated the sales & exhibition hall in the presence of NBDA Team Leader, Khrienuo C. Metha.
Mention may be made that subsequent to the declaration made by the World Bamboo Congress in 2009 at Thailand, the first World Bamboo Day was held in 2010 at Naga Heritage Village in Kisama. The Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari attended as the chief guest. Since then, the observance of World Bamboo Day has become an annual event for the State.
