Vadodara: Waterbodies in Gujarat are not just struggling for survival because of encroachments. Thick layers of water hyacinth are also choking the rivers, lakes, and ponds, shading out aquatic life and affecting their fish population. The water hyacinth infestation had recently disrupted the operations of a popular floating restaurant in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati river.
But now, the challenge of bringing this dangerous vegetation under control is being converted into an opportunity. A Vadodara-based foundation has successfully conducted experiments to convert water hyacinth into compost and even develop stationery materials like papers and diaries, turning the shrub into an alternative to wood. “Water hyacinth grows at a very fast rate on the surface of water bodies.
It is considered dangerous vegetation as it inhibits the growth of fish and other aquatic organisms. Its thick layer cuts down the light and depletes oxygen levels in water bodies,” said environmentalist Dr Suneet Dabke. “But there are many positive advantages of water hyacinth if it is controlled.
This plant has the potential to purify sewage or treat untreated wastewater. It has super absorption power and can even absorb heavy metals,” he said. Kachre Se Azadi Foundation, founded by Dabke as a non-profit organization, has successfully experimented with composting water hyacinth.
“We took a tractor loaded with water hyacinth from Sama lake and transferred it to our Dumad site for composting,” he said, adding that after shredding the vegetation into two-inch pieces and with pile composting, the compost was ready in 45 days. The foundation has also exhibited a live demo of composting before officials of Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), proposing the civic body take up composting to start with and then move on to paper making. “After the initial experiment of developing the compost, we got an opportunity to meet a Guwahati-based start-up which showed that even paper can be made from water hyacinth.
Although time-consuming, it is a simple process in which we shred water hyacinth into small pieces, dewater it, air dry it, and compress it,” said Dabke, adding that the foundation even funded the start-up with an initial order of 200 diaries made from water hyacinth. “The paper from water hyacinth is the best substitute for wood, whose cutting is leading to deforestation globally,” he said, adding that the foundation has identified Dumad and Baska as two potential sites where these products can be developed from water hyacinth. We also published the following articles recently Panel likens hawkers to water hyacinth, some hold govt jobs The ongoing survey in Kolkata has identified 11,527 hawkers in key hawking zones, with some owning multiple stalls and others holding government or private jobs.
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