Railway manufactures bricks out of waste soil to curb pollution
What's the story
As a part of its ambitious project to provide Imphal rail connectivity, the railways, in a first, has started producing bricks out of the waste soil in a manufacturing unit in Manipur.
The railways has taken up manufacturing work of this nature to curb pollution and cut costs. 3,500 bricks would be produced every eight hours as part of the process.
Here's more.
NFR, NIT Silchar
Northeast Frontier Railway seeks help of NIT Silchar
Northeast Frontier Railway with the help of NIT Silchar is turning the excess excavated soil into bricks that are being used for protective works-of-bridges, pitching-of-slopes, along with the embankment and lining-of-drains.
A Saibaba, Chief Engineer (Construction) NFR, said villagers consume water directly from streams, jeopardizing their health, adding, "We felt the need to control this, by minimizing the dumping of soil into water bodies."
Project completion
111-km line to be completed by 2020
The 111-km line to be completed by 2020, has 47 tunnels covering a distance of 63.2 km and 131 bridges.
Usually, bricks are purchased from factories and transported to the site which becomes extremely costly due to the transportation along the hilly roads, officials said.
NIT Silchar conducted experiments and came up with a successful formula of converting this unused soil into blocks.
Factory established
All-weather semi-mechanized factory has been set up
"As per their (NIT's) studies, the mixture of the local soil with small quantities of cement and other locally available ingredients when subject to high-pressure yields blocks of sufficient strength and durability," Saibaba said.
"An all-weather semi-mechanized factory has been set up at the Jiribam-Imphal section and manufacture of the soil to cement bricks has already begun," the Chief Engineer added.