Garbage is Green Gold { 3G }

DNA ( 06 Sept 2016 ) carries following news report :

" Scientists successfully convert sand into soil "

Report elaborates :

" Chinese scientists have claimed to have converted SAND into FERTILE SOIL, using a new method which they hope will be useful to fight  DESERTIFICATION.

A team of researchers from Chongqing Jiaotong University has developed a paste made of  PLANT CELLULOSE  that, when added to sand, helps it retain WATER , NUTRIENTS and AIR .

A 1.6-hectare sandy plot in  ULAN BUH DESERT , has been transformed into FERTILE  land, yielding RICE, CORN , TOMATOES, WATERMELON and SUNFLOWERS, after being treated with the new method.

" The new method will hopefully help turn DESERT  areas into an ideal habitat for PLANTS ," state run Xinhua quoted Yi as saying.

The plants in the sandy test plot needed about the SAME  AMOUNT of  WATER as those grown in regular soil, but required  LESS FERTILIZER and bore HIGHER YIELDS, according to estimates by experts.

The crops, including Rice, Corn and Potatoes , FLOURISHED  in the newly converted soil.

To verify the method, a large-scale planting experiment in ULAN BUH DESERT began in April this year. There is very little rainfall in the area.

The cost of sand conversion is between 22,500 yuan and 40,500 yuan (USD 3,373 to 6,071) per hectare, Yi said.

The new method is an important breakthrough in combating  DESERTIFICATION  and may prove fundamental in TRANSFORMING  DESERTS into FERTILE, ARABLE land, said Zhong Zhihua, an academic with the CAE. "

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CAN  INDIA  IMPROVE  UPON  THIS  CHINESE  INNOVATION  ?

I think so

Millions of tons of ORGANIC ( Bio-Degradable ) Waste-Products  that India produces , is mostly CELLULOSE  !

Eg :

#   Leftover vegetables / plants / fruits / cereals / pulses / plant leaves / papers / boxes ( City Garbage )

#   130 millions of tons of Paddy Straw / 50 million tons of Cane Trash etc ( Annual Agriculture wastes )

Many Housing Societies ( and even some Municipalities ) , already use this garbage for producing COMPOST MANURE or for generating  METHANE GAS

If this ORGANIC GARBAGE is thoroughly mixed with DESERT SAND and water sprinkled over it , there is high probability that the resultant SOIL will support all kinds of vegetables / fruits etc !

A beginning could be made in the cities of Bhuj ( near Kutchh Desert ) and Jaiselmer ( near Rajasthan Desert )

And water required for initial sprinkling of the ( Garbage+Sand ) mix and for subsequent watering of the vegetable plants , could be pumped from underground tube-wells , using SOLAR WATER PUMPS , since many Solar Power projects are , in any case , coming up in KUTCHH / RAJASTHAN deserts

ADVANTAGES  :

#   Advance of deserts can be stopped and green Forest Cover can be increased to reduce green-house effects

#   In a desert , there are no farmers and no bother of having to " acquire " any farm land . Desert land belongs to the State !

#  State Government , gets an opportunity to resettle " Project Affected Persons " , by allotting to them in these deserts , HUNDRED TIMES the land they lost to project ( but , a minimum of 5 acres ) !

#  Project Affected Persons  , will be happy to get  FREE land / FREE garbage / FREE water , and happily resettle !

#  It will also solve the problem of GARBAGE DISPOSAL and eliminate those ugly GARBAGE DUMPS all over the cities ( - without intervention from High Courts / Supreme Court ! )

#  Cities will never suffer exorbitant price-rise for vegetables due to shortages !

#  Solar power generated in desert-based plants , will find local demand !

#  Industries / Businesses which wish to set up " DESERT FARMS " by using Organic Garbage , may be granted " Industry Status " , allotted FREE land ( One acre for each person employed ) and exempted from Corporate Income Tax for 10 years

#  For unlimited supply of " Plant Cellulose " locally , ponds can be dug in the deserts and filled with fast growing Water Hyacinth plants , which are the  most efficient antennas  in the nature for capturing SOLAR ENERGY  !

A win-win solution for all !

I hope Shri Narendra Modiji ( who likes to experiment with new technologies to solve people's daily problems ), will soon instruct the Scientists of our numerous Agricultural Research Institutions / Councils , to conduct experiments along this line and submit their report by March 2017

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11  Sept  2016

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