Guwahati, June 9: The National Jute Board has launched an awareness campaign among engineers of the Assam public works department on the use of jute geo-textiles in civil engineering work like road construction and slope stabilisation.

“A daylong workshop was organised today where engineers from the state PWD were sensitised on how jute geo-textiles can be effectively applied to civil engineering work. The cost of road construction and maintenance comes down by about 15 per cent when jute geo-textiles are applied instead of synthetic geo-textiles,” N. Sengupta, secretary of the board, told reporters here.

Jute geo-textiles are bio-degradable fabrics used to improve the quality of soil and make structures, be it roads, slopes or buildings, stronger and stable. They are used in surface soil erosion control, slope stabilisation, river bank protection and protection of railway tracks.

“Jute being an eco-friendly, bio-degradable product is good for the biodiversity of an environmentally critical region like the Northeast. Moreover, jute is grown abundantly by farmers here. Greater use of the fabric will also encourage traders to set up more units in the region,” Subrata Gupta, jute commissioner, Union ministry of textiles, said. “We are also exploring areas like tea garden slopes where jute geo-textiles can be used and would be approaching the Tea Board in this regard,” he said. Assam produces 14 per cent of the country’s jute output and ranks second after Bengal, which produces about 70 per cent.

Jute is mainly cultivated in Barpeta, Dhubri, Darrang and Nagaon districts of Assam.

Farmers in the state have, in the past, demanded a higher minimum support price from the Jute Corporation of India as they claim to have incurred losses with the present support price being lower than the market price.

Gupta, however, said the Jute Corporation of India would buy jute from farmers at a minimum support price that is higher than the market price.