Dirang's geothermal drying unit opens to cut farmers' post-harvest losses

A drying facility that runs on natural heat from the earth was opened at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district on Tuesday. It is meant to help farmers and herders preserve produce such as kiwi, apple, persimmon and yak meat instead of losing it after harvest.

State Science and Technology Minister Dasanglu Pul inaugurated the unit in the presence of Norway's Ambassador to India, May-Elin Stener, Dirang MLA Phurpa Tsering, and scientists from India, Norway and Iceland, PTI reported, citing an official statement.

How it works

The unit uses geothermal heat from the Dirang area to dry local agricultural and livestock products. Drying lets growers store and sell produce over a longer period rather than at harvest-time prices, and the state hopes it will raise the market value of local goods and create steady livelihoods.

The project was funded by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, with additional support from the state government. Oil India Limited, the Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies (CES&HS) in Itanagar, and partners from Norway and Iceland, both countries with long experience in geothermal energy, worked on it. Pul, who chairs CES&HS, credited its director Tana Tage and his team.

NEInsider reported earlier this month that the facility, billed as the first geothermal-powered drying unit in the North East, was due to open on November 10.

Push for seismic study

At the event, Pul urged the Ministry of Earth Sciences to issue the sanction order for a seismic microzonation project for Arunachal Pradesh, which she said has already been approved. The state lies in Seismic Zone V, the highest earthquake-hazard category in India.

Microzonation maps how strongly different patches of ground are likely to shake in an earthquake. Pul said the study would help identify vulnerable areas and guide safer planning of roads, buildings and other infrastructure.

Ministry of Earth Sciences adviser Dr Jagvir Singh and Oil India Limited Director (Exploration and Development) Soloma Yomdo also attended. It was Stener's first visit to Arunachal Pradesh, and Pul said she hoped the project would lead to wider cooperation with Norway on renewable energy, research and technology transfer.

Why it matters

West Kameng's high valleys grow kiwi, apples and other temperate fruit, and yak herders in the region depend on meat and dairy, and produce that cannot be sold quickly after harvest is easily lost or sold cheaply. Pul said the success of science should be judged by whether it improves people's lives, and that she hoped the Dirang unit would become a model for similar projects elsewhere in the state.