A. Chandra , R. R. Kalita , N. N. Zhasa , H. Mishra , J. Singh

Abstract

A survey on demand and supply of fuel wood was conducted in the Titabor block of Jorhat District (Assam). Average family size was observed to be 5. Maximum respondent belongs to the OBC category. Agriculture is the main land use system in the region. Total extraction and consumption of fuel wood in the surveyed population is found to be 605.25 tonnes and 676.08 tonnes per year respectively. Per capita consumption was found to be 495 kg/year. Out of the total extraction , 77% comes from homestead , 14% from bamboostead and 9% from forest. About 96 percent of fuel wood is consumed in cooking. Total deficit in the area is found to be 10.47% while deficit excluding extraction bamboostead and forest is observed to be 30.99%. A total of 28 species are being exploited for fuel wood in the region. Family income , type of houses and caste are the major factors that govern the consumption of fuel wood in the area.

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R. R. Kalita , A. Chandra , H. Mishra , N. N. Zhasa

Abstract

A detailed survey on bamboo was conducted in the Majuli block of Jorhat District of Assam. Ten per cent of the total households were undertaken for the study. The average size of the family was found to be 5 and total population of the block was 1,35,378. About 68.75 % of the households had small landholding i.e. 1-2 ha. About 67.50 % of the families had kutcha types of house and remaining 32.50 % pucca types of houses. General category is the dominant caste in the area that counts 45.62 % of total population whereas SC population is least (1.88%). Mainly bamboo is used for construction and repair of house and fence, and also used as food (kharisa), firewood, etc. The total extraction and consumption of bamboo in Majuli is 84,747 and 48,736 tonnes per year. About 36,011 tonnes of bamboo is found surplus in the Majuli. The per capita extraction, consumption and surplus of bamboo is found to be 626, 360 and 266 kg per year respectively.

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