SHILLONG, April 15 - Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today urged the Commerce and Industries Department and IIT, Guwahati to patent the cane and bamboo-related design and technologies which were created so far.
Several of these cane and bamboo products, with creative designs and technologies, were displayed at the 33rd district- level Industrial Exhibition here.
The Department of Commerce and Industries in partnership with the Department of Design of IIT-Guwahati helped create these products. Sangma said the �wonderful products� created by the craftspersons taking advantage of the resources locally available was an outcome of a fruitful partnership model.
�The immediate step for the Commerce and Industries Department and IIT-Guwahati must be to patent this innovation and technology,� Sangma said while inaugurating the exhibition.
Stating that bamboo is a �part and parcel of tribal way of life,� Sangma said, partnerships can integrate the knowledge of science, innovation and creativity to create unique products.
�Let people across the globe look at our high-end bamboo products. Let bamboo become the first choice of the people and we will target the high-end clientele,� the CM said.
Congratulating the Department of Commerce and Industries and the team of IIT-Guwahati headed by Prof. Ravi Mokashi Punekar for the partnership, Sangma reiterated the importance of building partnerships.
Sangma suggested that the Asian Development Bank-funded Human Capital Development Programme should focus on bamboo development programmes. He added youths giving up armed struggle and trying to come back to the mainstream should be imparted such skills.
