Kedar Magar
Khotang, Aug 27: The Organic Fertilizer and Biogas Industry (OFBI) established in Okharbote, Solma, by Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality-2 was inaugurated by the then Koshi Province Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai.
The industry was formally inaugurated on Chait 21, 2077 BS. The industry, which was initiated on Ashad 1, 2076 BS, with a special grant of Rs. 4 crore 56 lakh, has now come to a standstill.
The residents of the municipality were thrilled when the organic fertilizer industry started operating, as they had been campaigning for the municipality to become chemical fertilizer-free.
The industry has the capacity to produce 1,000 kg of manure per hour, along with a biogas plant that converts dung gas into CNG gas for distribution to consumers like LPG gas.
Despite an investment of crores of rupees, three years and five months after the inauguration, there are no plans to operate the industries.
Ganga Bahadur Bishwakarma, a former municipal council member, provided six free plantations of land for the insutry, hoping to sell the produced fertilizer through the municipality.
However, there has been no effort from current representatives to operate the industries.
The goal was to distribute the organiz fertilizer to farmers as a subsidy and produce CNG gas from dung gas for consumer use.
The municipality planned to collect sewage from the Diktel bazaar and transport it to the biogas plant for processing. Despite employing local youths and temporary workers, the industry is now inactive.
The current mayor, Tirtharaj Bhattarai blames the previous local government for not having long-term action plan, resulting in the derelict state of structures like ponds and hi-tech green-houses.
The municipality has used some purchased machinery, but residents are concerned about the efficiency of current public representatives due to the lack of organization and operation of existing structures.
The municipality also provided employment to four local youth in the industry on a full-time basis and 25 on a short-term basis. But they all are now unemployed.
The municipality does not have accurate data on how much money was paid to the employees. According to the municipality, one of the three buffaloes bought for Rs.2 lakh died and two were auctioned for Rs.90,000.
Former mayor Dip Narayan Rizal said that the organic fertilizer industry was established as a preparation for making this municipality, which is the largest in the district with ten local levels, fully organic within five years.
The current mayor Tirtharaj Bhattarai claims that this situation has come about because the previous local government built various structures without making a long-term action plan.
The pond and hi-tech green house built in the industrial complex are also in a derelict state. Sources claim that a large amount of money has been spent by the municipality on the construction of ponds and hi-tech green houses.
One suction machine, two tractors and one vehicle purchased for the organic fertilizer industry are being used by the municipality.
