NHPC’s Pig Farming Initiatives For Women Near Subansiri Hydro Project

The NHPC had funded the ‘SAAR Pig Producers Company Ltd’, involving 2,500 women members, under its downstream development initiatives in the Subansiri Lower Hydro Energy Project in 2020.?

It is now providing financial assistance for the construction of a common facility centre (CFC) for the enterprise, ?spokesperson SP Mazumder said in a press release. This is an initiative by the NHPC towards promoting livelihood intervention, the spokesperson said.

“Once completed, this facility will have India’s biggest pig breeding farm with 400 high-quality pigs apart from a scientific slaughter house, nursery units, furrowing sheds, feed mill and storage units as well as a training centre for future interventions by the company,” he said.

The foundation stone for the CFC was laid on Friday by NHPC executive director Vipin Gupta, in the presence of the chief executive member of Mising Autonomous Council, Paramananda Chayengia. They were accompanied by Network partner M/s Arohan Foods Products Ltd and board members and beneficiaries of the producer company, he added.

The 2000 MW project is the biggest hydroelectric one undertaken in the country so far and is a run-of-river scheme on the Subansiri river in the Gerukamukh area.?According to a company estimate in January 2020, the cost of the mega project, which was scheduled to be commissioned in December 2012, had escalated to around Rs 20,000 crore from the initial Rs 6,285 crore.

Construction work on the ambitious project was stalled from December 2011 to October 14, 2019, due to protests by locals and many groups fearing safety and downstream impact.

(With PTI inputs)