GUWAHATI, Aug 19 ? Bamboo, which is fast emerging as the most viable wood alternative the world over, can be effectively used to revive the closed down plywood units of the State and the North-East. ?It is possible to use bamboo for majority of applications of wood, particularly in larger volumes like paper, plywood, construction and furniture, and it really holds a lot of promise for restarting the 70-odd plywood industries of the North-East,? Kamesh Salam, Director, Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), Guwahati, told The Assam Tribune today.
?It should be a very rewarding venture from the conservation aspect as well, because the immense pressure on timber will ease considerably once bamboo starts replacing plywood,? he said. Apart from its superior strength and mechanical properties, bamboo has an astoundingly quick regeneration period of four to six years.
Following the Supreme Court?s ban on timber felling in 1996 in view of the grave threat it posed to the State?s forests and environment, the thriving plywood mills of the region had to down their shutters. Most of the factories were located in the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya, which used to account for about 60 per cent of the country?s total plywood production.
?In the present context, even if a plywood mill is valued at Rs. 4 crore, a total asset worth Rs. 300 crore is lying idle or undergoing the process of natural decaying,? Salam said.
Since then a huge infrastructure in the form of plywood manufacturing machinery and equipment has remained idle leaving thousands of skilled/semi-skilled and unskilled workers unemployed. ?The machinery and equipment needed to make bamboo boards, Bamboo mat corrugated sheets, etc., are similar to those of plywood industries except that for certain products, some additional small machinery and equipment are needed and some minor modifications may be necessary in the existing machineries,? Salam said.
It is against this backdrop that the CBTC is organising a seminar on ?Revival of the shutdown bamboo units in the North East, using bamboo as the main raw material? at the Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok here on August 27 from 10 am. A number of experts besides officials from Union ministries will deliberate on a wide range of issues involving revival of the plywood units. The main objective of the meet is to make a revival package that is acceptable to both the Government and the mill owners.
?Bamboo can be converted to more value-added forms like bamboo plywood, which is a board based on bamboo timber produced through a series of mechanical and chemical processes and is pressed together under certain temperature and pressure by adhesive,? Salam said. Bamboo timber has good physical and mechanical properties. Its tensile, compressive and static strength and modulus of elasticity are far more than common coniferous wood and also has good elasticity, tenacity and wearability, he added.
The advantages accruing from reviving plywood units with bamboo are many. It will not only save a substantial amount of fresh investments and time compared to what would be needed for setting up of new units but will also ensure optimum utilisation of the existing land, sheds, machinery and equipment which will otherwise have resulted in a colossal loss to the nation. The revival project will save the forests and help maintain the fragile ecological balance of the region, an acclaimed biodiversity hotspot. It will create markets for bamboo-based boards in the country as a viable replacement for wood.
Generation of mass employment opportunities will be another important gain. The North-eastern region of the country is rich in bamboo resources, both in variety and extent, and accounts for over 60 per cent of the country?s total growing stock of bamboo. In India, the total bamboo growing area is estimated to be 9 million hectares with a growing stock of around 90 million tonnes.