Malda is soon going to get a huge supply of eggs and organic manure, thanks to a bio-methanation plant that will be set up at the government farm area near Gour Road under the English Bazaar police station.
To curb the dependence on egg supply from other states, three-lakh layer hens will be kept in the plant.
Almost 2 lakh 40 thousand eggs and 20 metric tons of manure are going to be produced everyday from the poultry litter (mixture of poultry excreta, spilled feed, feather and material used as bedding in poultry) daily, using Japanese technology once the plant is in full swing. The authorities expect it to be operational two months from now.
Dr Utpal Karmakar, deputy director, animal resource development department, Malda, said: “The construction work of the plant is underway. We hope to start the plant in two months. The huge demand for eggs in the district will be met by the project. Organic manure produced from it will be sold to farmers at a cheap rate. Poultry litters of three lakh layer hens will produce this manure in the plant.” The foundation stone for this eco-friendly plant was laid virtually by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on January 31, during her visit to Malda. The cost for the project is Rs 24 crore 59 lakh.
Three lakh layer hens will be brought into the plant in phases and will be reared here. Apart from the huge number of eggs laid by the birds, almost 11-ton poultry litter will be produced daily by these birds which will further be processed into 6 tons of organic manure after drying in sunlight.
The plant is being made fully eco-friendly and no foul smell or pollution from such a huge amount of litter will be generated by the plant.
Dr Gouri Shankar Koner, Managing Director of West Bengal Livestock Development Corporation along with two engineers from Kolkata visited the plant on Tuesday. The use of more organic manure to cultivate food and vegetables will finally contribute to public health.