Stubble burning is a major problem, particularly in north India, as it not only causes atmospheric pollution but also poor visibility due to smoke resulting in accidents at far-off places.
The issue caught the attention of S. Rajesh, an assistant professor at Raghu Engineering College, a few years ago and he launched Green Gears, an NGO, to provide a solution to fight atmospheric pollution due to burning of agro residue.
Environmental pollution
“In the olden days farmers used to cut the stubble with a knife after the harvest but now machines are harvesting the crop and in the process stubble is made into fine pieces. I thought of utilising the agro waste to make eco-friendly products. With the assistance of my students, I started making cups, plate, egg trays and insulation boards with the agro residues,” Mr. Rajesh said.
“We can replace products made of single-use plastic with this. We can also use hemp, coir banana and corn residues apart from paddy. It is biodegradable and turns into manure in the soil, and when thrown into water it can serve as feed for algae and some varieties of plants. In addition to solving the problem of environmental pollution, the farmers can also get some revenue by selling the products made out of the waste,” says Mr. Rajesh.
For the first time this year, Green Gears has made idols of Lord Ganesh with agro residue. “We distributed the idols among students of a few colleges in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam in a small way in view of the COVID-19 restrictions. Next year, we plan to do it on a larger scale and promote the concept in a big way. We are the first to make Ganesh idols from crop residues to help farmers,” he says.
The other members of the Green Gears team are: D. Sushma Yadav, Gandham Sai Kumar, Barla Raghuveer, Galala Meenakshi, Gatreddy Srikanth, Duppala Mahesh Kumar, B. Yeswanth and Pulagala Sujay Sashreek (all students). The team is planning to market their products.
Mr. Rajesh can be reached on his mobile no. 7702724967 or on the WhatsApp no:9493724967 for more details.