Guwahati, 5th April: As the Lok Sabha elections approach, the push for establishing the 4th fertilizer plant in Namrup, Assam, gained momentum following demands made by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Thursday, April 4. The Dibrugarh district president of AASU briefed the media, highlighting the challenges faced by Namrup BVFCL, one of India’s oldest fertilizer-producing units, due to outdated machinery.
Despite promises from the central government, including assurances from Union Fertilizer Minister and Dibrugarh MP Rameswar Teli, AASU stated that the revival of the industry has seen no progress. AASU criticized the Chief Managing Director of BVFCL, SK Singh, for alleged mismanagement and called for immediate action against him.
Although the Centre approved the proposal for the fourth unit in 2018, with an estimated cost of Rs 4500 crore, no significant progress has been made to date. The decline in production over the years has posed challenges for Namrup’s existing units, notably Namrup-3, established in 1987, which struggles with outdated technologies and machinery.
Once a thriving entity established in 1969 as the sole fertilizer-producing unit in Northeast India, BVFCL now grapples with declining production, unable to meet the nation’s urea demand.
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