Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday inaugurated a commercial use of vermicompost unit using the garbage of the Solid Waste Management Centre at Borbarua in Dibrugarh.
Speaking at the programme, Chief Minister Sonowal said, “It is time for us to turn the garbage into gold and secure the future of our young generation by ensuring health and hygiene and shifting our dependence on organic manures.”
Sonowal said that transforming the garbage into organic manures and their commercial usage is a remarkable step for Assam’s journey towards being an organic hub.
On May 24, the first Solid Waste Management Centre along with a vermicompost unit was opened at Dibrugaruh’s Borbarua Gaon Panchayat under Borbarua Development Block. Opened under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Gramin), the Waste Management Centre is pipped to use the bio-degradable garbage from 2800 families of the area to convert them into vermicompost.
The non-biodegradable trash thus collected are segregated as the centre has got the facility to recycle them for their reuse. For the management of the centre, the Drinking and Sanitation Committee, Dibrugarh has entered into an agreement with an NGO.
Chief Minister Sonowal said that guided by the ideals and principles of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014 to initiate a cleanliness movement throughout the country. This Abhiyan has no longer remained a programme, it has assumed the form of people’s movement.
Sonowal said that the vermicompost unit opened under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan under the joint auspices of Drinking Water and Sanitation Committee, Dibrugarh and an NGO would augur well towards the commercial use of vermicompost and promotion of organic farming in the State.
He also said that such an endeavour would complement to the transformation of Northeast into an organic hub.
The CM also thanked the NGO, Government officers and Deputy Commissioner, Dibrugarh Laya Madduri for taking active role in making the programme successful. The step taken by Dibrugarh district would in turn motivate other districts, Sonowal professed.
Making a strong statement of ushering in the commercial use of the vermicompost unit, Sonowal himself bought a packet of organic manure produced from the centre.
Lahowal MLA Rituparna Barua, Deputy Commissioner Laya Madduri, a host of senior officers including executive engineer of PHE and office bearers of NGO were present on the occasion.