SHILLONG: From illegal coal mining and stone quarrying to wanton felling of trees to make way for rapid urbanization, Meghalaya may be only a shadow of its green past. But, pine trees still stand tall in many areas and mesmerize visitors to the pine city of Shillong.
Sloppy habits like burning the pine needles that fall on the roads of Shillong or in the forests often cause forest fire, especially during the season of winds, apart from adding to the pollution. The Meghalaya Government is now working out a plan, however, to convert the needles into bio fuel so that these are not burnt carelessly and the locals, too, get an extra income.
The C&RD Department is processing a project under which a mechanism has been developed to convert the needles into bio fuel. It can be used to replace coal, a highly polluting fossil fuel.
Government sources say the needles shed by pine trees have since ages been a cause for worry in the forest of Meghalaya during the windy season. The needles, which contain resin canals making them inflammable, would lead to major forest fires in summers, reducing trees to ashes and charring wild animals to death.
Under the project, pine needles will be first collected, than processed in machines and made it in the form of bricks and used as fuel.
Pine needles would be collected in a large scale in villages having large volumes of pine trees. These will be baled for easy transport by a Baling Machine devised for the purpose and the baled pine needles will then be converted into briquettes by a Briquetting Machine for use as fuel. They may also be used in cement factories.
The Government is hopeful that the project will be completed within this year. It will be implemented in phases, beginning with areas having a concentration of pine needles. The technology of deriving bio fuel from sustainable bio-resources has been receiving much attention globally because of its environment friendliness, officials say.