DIBRUGARH: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the push for establishing the 4th fertilizer plant in Namrup, Assam gained momentum following the demand made by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Thursday (April 04).
Briefing the media, the Dibrugarh district president of AASU highlighted the challenges faced by the Namrup BVFCL, one of India’s oldest fertilizer-producing units, due to outdated machinery.
Despite promises from the central government, including assurances from the union fertilizer minister and Dibrugarh MP Rameswar Teli, the revival of the industry has seen no progress, AASU said.
AASU criticized the chief managing director of BVFCL, SK Singh, for alleged mismanagement and called for immediate action against him.
Although the Centre approved the proposal for the fourth unit in 2018, with an estimated cost of Rs 4500 crore, no significant progress has been made to date.
The decline in production over the years has posed challenges for Namrup’s existing units, notably Namrup-3, established in 1987, which struggles with outdated technologies and machinery.
The once thriving BVFCL, established in 1969 as the sole fertilizer-producing unit in Northeast India, now grapples with declining production, unable to meet the nation’s urea demand.