State to come up with 3 more furniture centres

In a unique initiative, the state Forest department has started making furniture at three different locations — Kolkata, Durgapur and Siliguri with three more centres coming up at North 24-Parganas, Howrah and East Burdwan.

State Forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick on Wednesday said his department has already received orders of a total of Rs 64 crore. Three factories that have already come up in Kolkata, Durgapur and East Burdwan are producing furniture.

The minister said that three more workshops are coming up. One will be set up in North 24-Parganas’ Barasat while the two others are coming up in Howrah and East Midnapore. The department will be able to make more furniture after three more factories come up.

The department has taken up another unique initiative by which giant X-Ray machines are being set up at two different locations in Alipurduar. The minister told reporters outside the Assembly that wooden logs are often transported through heavy-duty trucks illegally. As they seal the logs while transporting them from one place to another, it is difficult to check the consignments. As a result, the trucks often illegally carry the woods. “We have already started scanning the heavy duty trucks and seized woods worth around Rs 220 crore. Two giant machines are being installed at two different locations in the Alipurduar. These woods are illegally brought to the state from Assam via Alipurduar,” Mallick said.

Meanwhile, the Forest department is expanding the mini zoo at New Town with two acres of land being added. People will soon be able to see tigers, lions, hippopotamus and rhinos. Six lions will be brought from outside and six tigers from Jharkhand in exchange of other animals. A snake zone will also be set up at New Town mini zoo, the Forest minister said. Giraffes, crocodiles and deer are now found there.