‘Bashgram’ in Tripura – India’s first multi-purpose bamboo town

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Tripura is home to India’s first bamboo park and the country’s first multi-purpose ‘Bashgram (bamboo town),’ built to promote eco-tourism and attract visitors, yoga enthusiasts, and the environment lovers.

‘Bashgram’ was created on nine acres of barren land by some youths led by bamboo architect cum expert Manna Roy in western Tripura‘s Katlamara, just along the India-Bangladesh border. It has already attracted thousands of tourists, including foreigners and environmentalists, from across India.

In the lush green ‘Bashgram,’ which has been gradually developed since 2017, one can find a well-equipped yoga center, class ten standard school with hostel facilities, playground, several ponds with sufficient flora and fauna, bamboo made cottages, bamboo pathways and bridges, and various eco-friendly utilities and facilities.

With more than 14 varieties of bamboo and a plethora of other natural plants, flora, herbs, shrubs, and flowers, ‘ Bashgram’ is genuinely a natural domicile!

A museum would soon come up in ‘Bashgram’ (45 kms north of Agartala), where all types of endangered, obsolete, old and new materials made of bamboo would be displayed.

The basic idea behind ‘Bashgram’ is to correctly and effectively utilize local and rural resources with value addition while avoiding environmental damage.

Officials of Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) said that “Many entrepreneurs established factories out of which one big industry has been set up for producing bamboo flooring tiles (Bamboo wood), bamboo laminated board, furniture made of laminated bamboo and round bamboo, partition wall, home design materials which is very attractive.”

Thousands of eco-friendly bamboo items have traditionally been made in Tripura and other northeastern states.
Currently, the northeastern state produces 2,500 metric tonnes of bamboo sticks. The number is expected to rise to 12,000 metric tonnes in the next several years.

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