Agartala, Jan 02: As part of the initiative to promote industries in the northeast region of the country, Tripura has launched India’s first bamboo park, and a multipurpose village has been built in the state to encourage eco-tourism and attract tourists along with nature lovers and yoga enthusiasts.
The project, known as Bathgram, has already attracted thousands of tourists including foreigners and environmentalists from across the country to western Tripura’s Katlamara just along the India-Bangladesh border after nine acres of barren land were developed by youths led and bamboo architect/expert Manna Roy.
The lush green Bashgram, which has been gradually developing since 2017, is home to a well-equipped yoga centre, a class ten school with boarding facilities, a playground, several ponds with plenty of plants and animals, bamboo-made cottages, bamboo paths and bridges, and other eco-friendly utilities and facilities.
In addition to bamboo, there are many other natural plants, grasses, herbs, shrubs, and flowers that make the Bashingram a truly natural haven.
There will be a museum in the bamboo park that would house all types of bamboo materials, old and new, including those that were endangered, obsolete, and obsolete. It would be situated in ‘Bashgram’ (45 km north of Agartala).
As part of our society, bamboo knives were once used to cut the umbilical cord after a baby was born and also as a part of last rites after a person had passed away. Bamboo is used in numerous ways in all areas of human life.
As a result, bamboo resources are widely used to make a variety of delicious and popular foods in northeastern societies, according to Roy. As such, bamboo has become part of our life and death.
According to him, the main concept behind the development of Bathgram is to properly and effectively use local and rural resources with their added value, while respecting nature.
‘Bashgram’ was developed with a mission to develop a world-class medical cum eco-tourism hub by utilizing local resources. The current investment in ‘Bashgram’ is Rs 60 lakh, without any government funds or loans from any bank.
Roy emphasized that their goal is to empower the local bamboo artisans, especially the women, with training and inspiration, adding that they would use natural resources to provide care and treatment to patients.
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It is possible to see the beauty of the nearby tea gardens and the areas beyond the border of India and Bangladesh from a big watchtower in Bashgram.
As much as 28 percent of India’s bamboo forests are in northeastern India, including Tripura, Mizoram, and other northeastern states.
Of the 1,250 species of bamboo found throughout the world, 145 are native to India. According to the Forest Resources Survey of India, bamboo forests occupy approximately 10.03 million hectares, which represents about 12 percent of the country’s forest area. In the mountainous northeastern region, bamboo is referred to as “green gold.”
