A young entrepreneur in a unique initiative was making vermin-compost by flowers, mostly Aegle marmelos (Bilva Patra), which have been dumped after offering puja in Mata Tripureswari temple, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in Udaipur of Tripura’s Gomati district.
According to the district administration, it is the first value-addition project of highly perishable organic products like flowers by one Jayanta Datta. Datta said since childhood, he has been observing that the flowers, used for worshiping God and Goddess are often thrown into the water or garbage, which creates pollution.
"I felt very disheartened seeing that flower, used for worshiping Goddess Kali, are discarded in the garbage after the worship. This looks bad as we offer these things to God. So, I was planning to do something, especially with the hibiscus locally known as Joba flower. I tried making incense sticks, but I failed as the flowers became too sticky. After several attempts, vermin-compost has clicked," he told TOI.
Datta mentioned that he was prompted to join the mission after hearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat two months ago. Immediately, after he started making vermicompost after collecting the flowers, which is a 90-day process to become manure, he stated.
Jayanta has also established a Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) for the development of farmers in the Mata Bari constituency and is producing vermicompost under the same banner. During the on-season, they collect around 100 kilograms of flowers and leaves, and in the off-season, an average of around 30 kilograms is collected daily and put them into a compost ditch with bio-fetching materials.
"We will start packaging it from January next year. As the demand is high and chemical-free, I also plan to extend this initiative to other temples by involving local people. I aim to produce it on a larger scale. At present, we have a team of 200 members," Datta added.
The District Magistrate of Gomati, Tarit Kanti Chakma appreciated the move and said, "District Administration and Matabari FPO have taken an initiative to collect flowers and bel pata (Cord apple leaves) from Matabari Temple every day after puja and put them into the compost bin.
"Previously, it was discarded as garbage, so the idea was to make vermicompost, which will help to keep the temple area clean and provide bio-fertilizer to the farmers at an affordable price," Chakma said.(UNI)<>