L-R Mr. Arnab Basu, Chairperson – IT Committee and Managing Partner, East and Technology Consulting Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd,
Shri Debashis Sen, Chairman, HIDCO and Additional Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal and
Mr. Arijit Das, Founder, Schoppen Solutions and Incubatee, Webel-BCC&I Tech Incubation Centre holding a bee tray.
News Stardom: 5th March, 2020,Kolkata Rajarhat, the extension of traditional Kolkata, presents to us urban innovations in different forms. Latest feather on the cap is a unique project, Bee Corridor, being set up by the efforts of Webel-BCC&I Tech Incubation Centre which got inaugurated on 5th March, 2020 at Eco park , Rajarhat.The Bee Corridor has been set up by incubatee. MrArijit Das, Schoppen Solutions. In an effort to boost startup ecosystem in West Bengal,the WEBEL-BCC&I Tech Incubation Centre was set up. Livelihood issues have been much a subject of concern for the youth and for the government alike. Successful models can add a much needed boost to the startup environment and this in turn can generate more employment and add to economic growth index. Present on the occasion Chief Guest Shri DebashisSen, Chairman, HIDCO and Additional Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, stated that that it is possible in an urban context to have a honey production centre. Such a centre with minimum effort and with a dose of technology could improve the earnings, revenues and incomes of people around the cities. In villages and peripheries surrounding Kolkata –in south around Joka and in North around Salt Lake and Rajarhat there is a huge interlap of flowers and in its pollen bees thrive. Honey and nectar productions from these could raise the income levels of any villager in and around the area of Rajarhat and Salt Lake by at least 10% if done properly. Also one could also cultivate bees out of balconies of homes if one stays close to some garden”. “The Bengal Chamber has been working towards providing support through network of members and stakeholders to potential incubates by providing them mentorship and guidance from the senior members with regards to domain knowledge and also ancillary areas of business like taxation, legal matters and IPR and even marketing and branding. We are very encouraged that one of our incubates of the pilot has been ready to be set up here and this is an initiative involving emerging technologies like IoT, AI for colonization of bees by monitoring the behavior of bees to facilitate their colonization”, stated Mr. ArnabBasu, Chairperson – IT Committee and Managing Partner, East and Technology Consulting Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd . This is also a unique project from the perspective of bee cultivation at urban ecosystem with the aim of livelihood development for people around the place. Also from an environmental point of view such efforts involving bees will not just benefit society with employment but also restore balance of the bee population which is much under threat. The Bee Corridor is a unique project that endeavors to successfully blend environment and technology together.
Wooden boxes are kept in a row stretching to a distance of 100 meters at present. There are 17 boxes in all as of now which would later be increased once the colony expands and honey extraction increases. Since Rajarhat has been developed as a Smart city with urban edifices and pre planned green landscapes, having such corridors would also bring in a rural flavor within urban settings owing to return of bee and insect population which occupy the bottom rung of the ecological chain and act as nature’s waste disposers crucial to the process of decomposition. Others present were Mr. Kalyan Kar, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Inqube Innoventures Pvt Ltd and Mentor, Webel-BCC&I tech Incubation Centre, Mr. Arijit Das, Founder, Schoppen Solutions and Incubatee, Webel-BCC&I Tech Incubation Centre.
Be First to Comment