New Delhi, Apr 9 : The Government will implement the second phase of cane and bamboo development project in May to strengthen the cane industry in India.

The four-year project will be executed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) with the help of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the North Eastern Council (NEC) and other agencies. The centre has granted two million US dollars for its implementation.

The first phase of the project was successfully implemented during 2000-04.

The Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DONER), Mani Shankar Aiyar, described it as a wholistic project with different objectives of critical importance to the people in the North Eastern Region.

He said, “The project promotes livelihood in the region and helps in the eradication of poverty.”

Kandeh Yumkella, Director General of UNIDO, underlined the need for effective implementation of the project.

He said that the project is a timely strategy to counter the adverse effects of the global phenomenon of climate change and hope that bamboo would replace timber in the next two decades.

The project complements strategies of the National Mission on Bamboo Applications of the Centre and the North Eastern Regional Bamboo Mission.

India has one of the highest concentration of bamboo in the world. This resource generates jobs, skills and relevant technologies in the region. (ANI)