[ Prafulla Kaman ]
RUKSIN, 19 Sep: Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering urged the educated youths of the district to “adopt income generation activities through agriculture and animal farming, rather than running after government jobs.”
Ering was addressing the gathering after the ceremonial opening of the East Siang Rubber Pvt Ltd, a rubber processing unit working with Indore (Madhya Pradesh)-based Khandesh Rubtech Pvt Ltd, at the Industrial Growth Centre in Niglok in East Siang district on Tuesday.
Stating that the hilly slopes and the plain land of Pasighat West area are fertile and suitable for agriculture and horticulture activities, Ering asked the local farmers to “harness the potential and enhance your household income.”
“The state government should initiate a policy to supply agriculture assets to progressive farmers, and also provide transport subsidies for selling their produce,” the MLA said.
Arunachal Pradesh Rubber Growers Association president Tony Pertin expressed concern over the role of middlemen in trading of rubber farm products (latex and dried sheets), stating that they are “depriving the farmers from having actual price.”
He appealed to the state government to “end political selection of beneficiaries in the rubber sector,” and demanded that “actual and needy farmers should be provided with benefits.”
Trade & Commerce Director S Modi said that he would “move the government to formulate a policy for helping rubber growers, besides promoting the processing units in the state.”
Referring to supplying of rubber saplings to farmers at a subsidised rate under the “mission mode scheme,” Modi informed that “growing of the plant is being looked after by the agriculture department, while trading of rubber products is dealt with by the trade and commerce department.”
The executive members of the East Siang Rubber Pvt Ltd informed that the processing unit, with a capacity for 800 sheets production per day, would start its function from 2 October this year.
“The production capacity of the processing plant will be increased to 10,000 sheets per day after a few months, as the company is investing about Rs 10 crore within the next two years, aiming at creation of employment avenues for local educated youths,” said the company’s marketing director Harshal Patil.
Itanagar-based Rubber Board Regional Officer Bishwajeet Chakravarty exuded hope that “the rubber processing industry would promote the rural economy of the Siang region.”
According to officials, the industry is the first of its kind in the state, “which is bringing hope for the local horticulturists.”
Among others, Ojing Aze, who is known as the Rubber Man of Arunachal, ZPMs Aruni Jamoh and Anung Gammeng, and senior public leader Tonggeng Panyang also spoke.
Around 200 rubber growers of East Siang and other districts attended the programme.
