In the first of its kind efforts to develop green cover in the Indian deserts of Rajasthan, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on Tuesday planted 1000 bamboo saplings at Tanot village in Jaisalmer, in collaboration with the Border Security Force (BSF). KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena launched the plantation program in presence of Shri Surendra Panwar, Special DG (Western Command), BSF. Bamboo plantation, as part of KVIC’s Project BOLD (Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought) aims at serving the combined national goals of reducing desertification and providing livelihood and multi-disciplinary rural industry support to the local population.

The Bamboo saplings have been planted over 2.50 lakh sq feet of Gram Panchayat land near the famous Tanot Mata Temple which is located close to Longewala Post on the Indo-Pak Border. Situated nearly 120 Kms from the Jaisalmer city, Tanot has become one of most visited tourist spots in Rajasthan. KVIC plans to develop the bamboo-based green patch in Tanot as a tourist attraction. BSF will be responsible for maintaining the plants.

Project BOLD was launched on 4^th July from a tribal village Nichla Mandwa in Udaipur district in Rajasthan with plantation of 5000 saplings of special bamboo species over 25 bigha of arid land. It is aligned with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s call for reducing land degradation and preventing desertification in the country. The initiative has been launched as part of KVIC’s “Khadi Bamboo Festival” to celebrate 75 years of independence “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.

KVIC Chairman said the bamboo plantation in the deserts of Jaisalmer will serve multiple objectives, i.e. preventing desertification, environment protection and creating sustainable model of development by supporting rural and bamboo-based industries. “In the next three years, these bamboos will be ready for harvest. While this will generate recurring income for the local villagers; KVIC will also develop this green patch into a tourist spot considering the large footfall of tourists visiting Longewala post and the Tanot Mata Temple,” Shri Saxena said. He lauded the support of BSF in implementing the project in a very short time.

In the next 3 years, 1000 bamboo plants will multiply and produce at least 4,000 bamboo logs weighing about 100 MT of bamboo. At the current market rate of Rs 5000 per ton, this bamboo produce will generate an income of nearly Rs 5 lakh after three years and later on every year, thus supporting the local economy.

Bamboo can be used for making agarbatti sticks, furniture, handicraft, musical instruments and paper pulp while the bamboo waste is widely used in making charcoal and fuel briquette. Bamboos are also known for conserving water and hence useful in arid and drought-prone regions.

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MJPS/MS