Bhopal: Maharashtra Agriculture Prices Commission chairperson Pasha Patel on Monday said he had suggested to the Madhya Pradesh government to promote bamboo cultivation to tackle climate change and global warming. The Maharashtra government had recently said it would provide support to small farmers for bamboo cultivation on 10 lakh hectares of land. Mr Patel said,
Humanity is facing the crisis of global warming and climate change. We can tackle it by cultivating bamboo, one tree (clump) of which can absorb 180 kilograms of carbon dioxide and release 320 kilograms of oxygen into the atmosphere.
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Mr Patel met MP agriculture minister Aidal Singh Kanshana two days ago. He added,
I have suggested to the MP government to take up bamboo cultivation in a big way.
Citing a study, he said all government thermal power generation units in the country release 5,90,000 MT of carbon per day into the atmosphere, adding bamboo can be an alternative to coal as a fuel for power generation. He claimed,
The calorific value of coal is 4,000 kcal/kg while that of other agri residue biomass is 2,200 to 2,500. So bamboo is beneficial for power generation as by burning it a cycle will be created in the atmosphere because of its unique ability of absorbing CO2 and releasing oxygen.
He said the country’s requirement of biomass is 700 lakh MT, while at present only 2 lakh MT is being used, adding that this gap can only be addressed when bamboo cultivation is promoted in a big way.
Mr Kanshana appreciated the suggestion and issued directions to ensure it is implemented properly, Mr Patel said.
Like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh must also have commission to decide agriculture prices in the interest of farmers, Mr Patel added.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
