Indiscriminate dumping of arecanut husk worries residents

The indiscriminate dumping of arecanut husks has become a major challenge in Tarikere, complained residents of Tarikere.

There is a need to reuse the husk using suitable methods to preserve the environment, they added.

Arecanut is a major crop cultivated in semi Malnad region of the district. In Tarikere taluk alone, arecanut is cultivated on 22,000 hectares of land and the farmers are lagging behind in processing the husk and reusing it for various purposes.

After keeping aside a quantity of husk to be used in hearth, the remaining is dumped beside the road. Later, the dumped husk is set on fire, creating air pollution, which in turn creates health complications among the people.

Burning of areca husk is a common phenomenon at Lingadahalli Road in Tarikere. The joggers in the morning are inconvenienced by the burning of the husk. The authorities should initiate steps to check the burning of the husk, said Dadu and Srinivas, residents of Kodicamp.

Loads of waste from arecanut is dumped beside the road leading to Amriteshwara Temple in Amrithapura Gram Panchayat.

Assistant Commissioner B R Roopa said that expert opinion will be collected on the re-use of waste generated from arecanut. The district administration will chalk out some strategy to overcome the issue.

There is fibre content in waste from arecanut. Various products can be manufactured using waste. The spreading of husk on the arecanut plantations helps in maintaining the moisture content in the plantation. Mamcos provides an incentive of Rs 50,000 to those who reuse arecanut husk, said Mamcos Director R Devanand.