Briquettes: An environmental friendly sustainable alternative to firewood & charcoal
Source: The Sangai Express
Kakching, June 22 2019:
More than 30 lakh worth woods are burnt and utilised in the State while people residing in hill areas and far flung villages use firewoods or charcoal for domestic or business purposes.
Making the above statement at a one day media sensitization on "Sustainable fuel: Challenges & Solution in Manipur", Managing Director, Synergy Engineering & Environmental Solution, Bidhanchandra Loitongbam continued that frequent use of woods or charcoal depletes the forest and degrades the environment.
It would not be an exaggeration to state that many man-made disasters like flood, drastic climate change, landslide etc, are caused by such exploitation of the forest and environment, he remarked.
He went on to state that, although experts, activists and NGOs, CSOs are raising awareness on environmental degradation and its ill effects, no concrete solution to forest depletion has been witnessed yet.
Apart from creating an extensive climate change in the ecosystem, use of firewoods and charcoal creates indoor air pollution which quickly affects the women and children, who stay in the kitchen/house most of the time.
Synergy Engineering and Environmental Solution is a firm which aims to provide a solution to sustainable fuel, he said and added that a briquette plant of the firm in Kuraopokpi Industrial Area, Kakching produces more than a ton of briquette per day.
Synergy Engineering and Environmental Solution believes that the briquettes, which are made from different elements including wood chips, dried leaves etc which are easily available in open spaces, can act as a sustainable fuel.
The briquette plant which started operating from the fund sanctioned by the State Govt under Start Up Manipur is giving employment to more than 40 people, Bidhanchandra said and added that the firm has set its target to increase the number of jobs to 400 in few years.
"If the firm receives more aid from the Government and other stakeholders, then the fuel crisis in the State can be resolved up to some extent by producing more briquettes, which are environment friendly, and solve the degradation of forests", he remarked.