Deb to take up with Fadnavis about export of Ganesh idols made of bamboo

Agartala, June 24 (PTI): To help the bamboo-based handicraft industries Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday said he would take up with his Maharastra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis about export of Ganesh idol made from bamboo roots in the state.

Inaugurating a workshop on ‘Government-e-market place’ or GEM for bamboos, Deb said idols of Ganesh made with bamboo roots from Tripura can get good market in Maharashstra.

“I have noticed that Ganesh idols made from bamboo roots from our state has demand and can capture markets in Maharastra. I will take up the matter with the Chief Minister of Maharastra for help in marketing the product in his state, so that the artisans and entrepreneurs in our state could be encouraged,” he said.

The chief minister urged the bamboo and cane handicraft artisans, bamboo producers and entrepreneurs to register their names with Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) to get a better market.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 removed the tag of the tree from bamboo. This would help bamboo cultivators as now there is no legal barrier in planting or cutting of bamboo.

“Bamboo is now treated as grass and legal barriers were removed for cutting of the plant or making products from it. Sixty six per cent of bamboo in the country is produced in North-East. Tripura, despite being a prominent producer of bamboo, the industry could not take off due to lack of proper and skilled training of the bamboo growers and artisans”, he said.

Deb said the state government has decided to undertake massive bamboo cultivation covering 15,000 hectares in the state.

At least 21 species of bamboo are commonly found in the state. The bamboo bearing area in the forests of the state is 3,246 sq km.

Project officer of state ‘Bamboo Mission’, Aswini Rupinee said they have signed a MoU with the National Centre for Design and Product development on June 2 for new designs of the products.