DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 15 (MExN): Nagaland Bamboo Resource Centre (NBRC), Dimapur, is all set to host the celebration of World Bamboo Day on September 18. Marking the day, Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA) has lined up a number of activities at the NBRC in tune with day’s theme – ‘Green Future’.
A highly versatile raw material, bamboo is estimated to bring trade worth more than Rs. 10, 000 Crore. Widely available in Nagaland, the State government, through the NBDA, is working towards economically exploiting bamboo – dubbed green gold - and its related activities for the State’s growth.
“Bamboo, with its immense utility, is very close to the heart of people… it is linked to the lives of people here,” said Agriculture Production Commissioner & Missions Director, HK Khulu, addressing a press conference on Friday at the NBRC in connection with the celebration on September 18. Living up to the day’s theme, all activities will centre on bamboo and its potential as an ecologically friendly material with myriad uses, added Khulu.
The day’s activities will start with flagging off a car rally, in collaboration with the Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Association (NAMSA), at the DDSC Stadium at 8:00 am. The idea behind the rally is to promote ‘clean vehicles’ running in compliance with emission norms. It will be followed by the inauguration of craft sales and exhibition stalls at the NBRC at 9:00 am. Painting and essay competitions based on the theme will be conducted simultaneously. In the afternoon, at 2:00 pm, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio will attend a formal programme at the venue during which he will launch the NBDA website. The events will culminate with a concert in the evening scheduled at 5:00 pm.
The highlight of the concert will be the launch of an indigenous built electric guitar made of bamboo. Designed by local artisan Nungsang Jamir, people can not only have a glimpse of the guitar but also hear it play at the concert. The guitar is yet to be mass produced. The designer has also made a prototype of the ‘hollow’ version, commonly known as the ‘box guitar’. Nagaland now has the distinction of designing the first guitar made of bamboo in India.
Team leader of NBDA, Khrienuo C Metha, said that propagating and giving visibility to the potential of bamboo is at the heart of the State government’s bamboo mission. A team member of NBDA, while sending out a message inviting citizens to visit the NBRC on September 18, said that people’s attendance will greatly benefit Nagaland’s fledgling bamboo mission.
A planned, scientific and holistic approach to the cultivation and management of bamboo on a sustained basis can be an inexhaustible source of goods and services, and can play a significant role in the development of the State. With timber becoming scarce, bamboo, with its wide range of uses, can serve as a cost-efficient alternative to forest products, stated an NBDA handout to the media. Captive plantation of bamboo works out to around 50, 000 hectares in Nagaland or 5 percent of the country’s total bamboo stock.
