Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 18 Aug: Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd) held a courtesy meeting with former Chief Minister and Haridwar MP Trivendra Singh Rawat at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday. During the meeting, they discussed various contemporary issues, along with ways to strengthen the rural economy and promote better utilization of local resources.
The Governor said that in a mountainous state like Uttarakhand, the scientific, technological, and environmentally appropriate utilization of local resources can play an important role in strengthening the rural economy, creating employment opportunities, and checking migration. He emphasized the need to study these possibilities and develop practical models through universities and research institutions.
On the occasion, Rawat said that resources such as pine needles (Pirul), cow dung, and other organic waste available in Uttarakhand should not be viewed merely as waste but should be developed as economic resources. He said that the large quantities of pine needles available in forests could be utilized scientifically and technologically for energy generation and other purposes. This could help reduce the risk of forest fires while also creating employment and income opportunities at the local level.
He also discussed the potential for the multifaceted utilization of cow dung. He noted that, apart from products such as biogas and bio-fertilizers, modern technology and research could enable the utilization of components such as cellulose and lignin present in cow dung to develop value-added products. They also discussed the possibilities of scientific management and utilization of residues generated from Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).
