Poonam Nath

Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde expresses interest in collaborating with Tripura govt on bamboo projects

Digital Desk: Maharashtra will consider signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tripura to launch a bamboo mission in the western state, Environment Minister Pankaja Gopinath Munde announced during a visit to the Northeast state on Tuesday.

The Maharashtra minister mentioned bamboo-based building of enormous structures in China and indicated that comparable possibilities may be investigated in her state.

Munde was interested in knowing more about Tripura's approach to bamboo production, utilization, and industrial applications.

Tripura cultivates 21 types of bamboo across 3,246 square kilometers of forest and planned forestry. In 2019, the state government launched an ambitious plan to develop 15,000 hectares of bamboo, incorporating the forest and rural development agencies, as well as local people, through incentive-based strategies.

Muli bamboo accounts for over 80% of this total bamboo. The state administration has taken initiatives to increase bamboo plants along rivers, roadways, and barren fields. Bamboo shoots are also eaten as a delicacy in traditional Tripuri cuisine, especially with fermented fish.

Munde visited the Bamboo Pathsala and the Bamboo and Cane Development Institute nursery in Lichubagan, Agartala, where she launched a bamboo jewelry training and production project and engaged with craftswomen from throughout the state.

Later, Munde visited a bamboo industry in Bodhjungnagar, West Tripura. "As an environment minister, I want to expand green zones and forests. "Bamboo can employ rural communities and farmers," she stated.