(L -R) Bricks ready to go to furnance, and the brick furnance at Valley of Zungki River, Kiphire. (Morung Photos)
Lipichem
Kiphire | March 11
Kiphire district, the farthest district in the state shares her border with Myanmar which is around 326 Km away from the commercial hub Dimapur. The district transports all raw materials, starting from kitchen goods to that of building materials at a very high cost. Adding to that, truck owners have to be cajoled as lots of problems arise on the way before it reaches its destination, but there might be an end to this ordeal as local products of bricks are set to go to market in few weeks.
Tsoinju, a young entrepreneur came up with the idea of producing brick after testing raw materials, and constructed a brick kiln at the Valley of Zungki River, which flows down to Chindwin River. The bricks produced here will be cheaper by few rupees from the market price of Rs 15-17 per brick. The cost of any essential commodities to reach Kiphrie from Dimapur is Rs 2.50 per Kilo which is the highest in the district.
The rudimentary brick furnace constructed without the help of any agencies has an area of 12,800 Sq ft. It is estimated to produce 80,000 pieces of bricks initially while 50,000-60,000 bricks are in the line.
Tsoinju said, the project was taken up only after samples and raw materials were checked for quality competence. Raw materials were also taken to some industries in Manipur to check their quality, he added.
Sharing the problems and obstacles Tsoinju said, “Lack of man power, cash and demand placed by some organization before the product is produced are some of the problem faced in this unit.” However, he expressed happiness that villagers, council and citizen of Tethuyo village were giving all support to the project. He also added, since the unit is new, experts from Manipur have come to help him out, but in the future, he will employ locals so that they learn the art of making bricks.
Tsoinju also said no one has come forward or placed an order of any brick so far, but he has hope that his product will be fine as he has tested its quality. “I have christened the name of the brick as ‘O2R’ as it is 2 Km from the national highway road,” he said.
This young entrepreneur fear that the kiln may run short of firewood as it has already consumed 18 truck load, and there is no alternative fuel available. He also asserted that the unit, if taken care properly will be able to sustain for decades as raw material are available.
It may also be mentioned that Government of Nagaland has proposed for construction of dam at Zungki for production of 150 mega watts Hydel electricity. If this materialize the brick unit, along with all the resources will submerge under the water and all this will become an oral history for the generation to come.
