AT Photo
Agartala Oct 6: : Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Thursday said that the state government is eyeing to Rs. 20 Billion economy through production and trade of Agar wood based products in the state.
"Tripura has been blessed with the natural resources and Agar is one of them. This sector has only faced ignorance and apathy in the past due to lack of will to let the 15,000 Agar growers of the state financially independent. Now, we have set a target of Rs 20 billion economy through this sector after simplification of the legal complications associated with the trade", he said.
According to Dr Saha, there are around 1.38 crore total Agar trees spread in 15,000 stand alone private plots. The highest concentration of the trees are in Kadamtala in North Tripura district.
Dr Saha also said that the capital city of Tripura--Agartala got its name from the large number of Agar trees once found in abundance in its valleys. "We may not have the trees standing tall in the capital city but the name remained with us. I must admit that Agar wood found here is perhaps the best of the quality found anywhere in the world. India grown Agar wood already has a wide market internationally and Tripura is a new addition to the Agar producing states. Apart from Tripura, Assam also has huge areas covered with Agar trees making our state second in the North Eastern region". He was speaking at the inaugural session of the 3rd International Buyer Seller meet organised jointly by the Forest department and the industrial bodies at a private hotel here in Agartala.
He said, "Tripura is the first state to notify Agar policy. Talks are underway with the Central government for the constitution of an Agar board in the line of Tea Board India with headquarters based in Tripura. The central government is very eager to help the state in this sector. Already we have been allotted an export quota of 25,000 kgs", he pointed out.