M A I N   N E W S

India’s first bamboo museum to open doors
Jotirmay Thapliyal/TNS

Dehradun, September 25
The country’s first ‘bamboo museum’ is all set to be ‘formally’ inaugurated at the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT) in Palampur (Himachal Pradesh). The museum will house a workshop and a laboratory. It will also display bamboo products.

The cantilever-based structure has a floor area of 3,600 feet and happens to be the largest bamboo structure in the country. Built at a cost of Rs 65 lakh by the Uttarakhand Bamboo Board in 11 months, a total of 50,000 bamboo poles were used to complete the structure. For the first time, bamboo was used for reinforcing the walls. Boards, woven mats and even blinds made of bamboo were used in the construction.

“The task was certainly challenging as it was a cantilever-based structure and included a central dome,” said STS Lepcha, executive officer of the board.

Bamboo in Uttarakhand and elsewhere is fast emerging as a housing substitute in areas with undulating terrains. Structural engineer Meirisiyang Pamei, who supervised the construction, told The Tribune that locally available bamboo in Palampur was used and treated on the spot in order to reduce the cost of production.

Low-cost, middle-end and even high-end houses can be constructed with bamboo, say experts. An 1,800 sq feet low- cost bamboo house is likely to cost Rs 4.5 lakh, whereas a middle-end house of the same size would come up at a cost of Rs 15 lakh. A more fancy and stronger structure of the same size may cost up to Rs 54-60 lakh.

Bamboo is flexible and corrosion resistant and structures made up of this wood can withstand earthquakes and floods too.

The board had constructed two bamboo huts at Malkoti village in Shivpuri area of Rishikesh. “Both huts, situated along the Ganges, were submerged in last year’s floods. But there was no structural damage to the huts,” said Meirisiyang. A properly treated bamboo structure can have a minimum lifespan of 30 to 40 years, claim experts. Bamboo structures need cleaning and polishing once in a couple of years. Even in areas, which record heavy rainfall, cleaning and polishing are required once in two years.

A WOOD MARVEL