BANGALORE: Highlighting the issue of increasing national waste caused by forest fires, at a day-long interactive meet on ‘Innovative Technology for Wood and Panel products’, experts spoke about the immediate concerns that need to be addressed.Organised by the Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), in association with South India Plywood Manufacturer’s Association (SIPMA) to celebrate National Technology Day on Friday, the meet was attended by Director of IPIRTI Dr C N Pandey, IFS, Regional Director K V Lakshmana Murthy, IFS (Retd) S Parameswarappa along with leading entrepreneurs of plywood and panel products.Addressing the gathering, K V Lakshmana Murthy said, “Forest fire is the greatest enemy of the forest resources and is a national waste.” S Parameswarappa further explained that the plywood industry should aim at better usage of wood and avoid wastage instead of aiming at improving its quality.The major issue of discussion was the cultivation of Melia Dubia, an excellent source of timber. “Many farmers can be benefited by cultivating Melia Dubia, but it is hard to find good quality seeds, another problem is that the farmers lack awareness,” explained the experts. They further added that the forest department has agreed to provide them with the seeds so that they can get it at the right prices. Currently the farmers are charged any price between `10 and `100 for the seeds.However, concluding the debate they agreed that the plywood industry should not depend on the forest department alone, but it should form associations to help themselves procure raw materials.
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