Agartala, sep 27: Tripura, the second largest rubber-growing state after Kerala, is fast becoming an industrial hub in the northeast. Locals visualize both business and employment opportunities.

A rubber wood factory plant was recently set up in Tripura’s Anandanagar area, which is the first in the northeast and the second largest factory in the country.

Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation (TFDPC), a State Government owned PSU, has commissioned the factory at a cost of more than Rs. 6 crores and has created direct employment for over 300 employees besides another 1500 more who are indirectly involved with it.

“The main objective of setting up of this plant is to utilize rubber logs which are otherwise not good to use as fire wood. After 32 years of giving latex the producing capacity decreases and becomes non economical, so rubber trees being a plantation crop it has to be fell after 32 years and replanted. So theses logs are treated and utilized here,” said Alak Paul, Manager of TFDPC.

With an aim to utilize the by-products of rubber plantations, the factory is emphasizing on using waste rubber logs for construction purposes, which has a huge demand in the country.

“More than 300 workers work here and though this plant started more than seven-eight years ago but solid rubber wood board production started recently. This board is entirely made from the wood of rubber trees, which are cut down after the phase of latex production is completed,” said Dulal Das, a worker.

“Today there is huge demand of rubber boards in the domestic as well as in foreign market like Japan, China and Indonesia. This is the biggest unit in the northeast India and it is totally automatic,” he added.

Around 41,000 hectares of land in the state are used entirely for rubber cultivation and produce 23,000 tones of rubber latex annually.

Seeing the success of the TFDPC, several investors have shown interest in investing in Tripura. (ANI)