The Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat has employed those, who seek employment under MNREGA even after completing the mandatory 150 days of employment, in manufacturing environment- friendly earthen bricks.
The ‘Mardini Press’, invented by Indian Institute of Science scientists in Bengaluru, and the expertise of Bengaluru NGO Mahimaya, in manufacturing the Compressed Stabilised Earthern Blocks (CSEB), have helped the zilla panchayat.
ZP Chief Executive Officer Anirudh Sravan sent a batch of 16 landless agricultural labourers from Mashal village in Afzalpur taluk and other villages in the district to the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) in Hyderabad to learn how to make earthen bricks.
Funds, available under Indira Awaz Yojna, were used to purchase the press to manufacture the earthern blocks.
The bricks manufactured are not only environment-friendly but also cost-effective. These blocks do not require burning, thereby saving fuel and also averting the damage to the environment.
The strength of these bricks is also higher and the surface of the blocks is smooth and, thus, does not require plastering.
On an average, 400 earthen bricks are manufactured in a day and cured for 21 days before it is used for construction. Mr. Sravan said that currently around 12 persons are employed to manufacture bricks and are paid Rs. 204 per day.
There is a proposal to install the press in more villages in Kalaburagi, Aland and Chincholi taluk, he added..
