I was a part of the team of scribes that recently visited the IFFCO fertilizer plants in Aonla, Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. The team spent two days in the township. The latter is divided into two parts: residential and technological. Both sprawl over a whopping space of more than six hundred acres of land each.
We had the opportunity to observe fertilizer plants up close. Nearly two thousand five hundred workers including non-skilled people are employed in the township. The plants produce urea, ammonia and one of the plants will soon be producing urea in liquid form. Most probably its production in this unit will begin from mid-December.
The urea in liquid form is IFFCO’s own scientific invention gaining popularity as “Nano Liquid Urea” across the country. Despite negative opinions expressed by some scientists, the Nano urea has widely been held as a great achievement. The new liquid fertilizer bids fair to be a game changer.
Not only will it largely replace the conventional urea, expensive as well as difficult to handle but also help the country reduce its import bill. It is also said to be environmentally friendly.
The whole township looks caressed by greens from all sides. We felt as if we were in a place immensely favored by nature. We were also struck by its hyper organized atmosphere. We could not notice even the slightest disarrangement of things anywhere on the campus. Everything looked like it was in its proper place.
The team also visited the five hundred acres of farmland exclusively used for experiments. We were as well struck by the technologies used in both conventional and biotechnological plants- technologies that looked as if they were fresh out of a bandbox. The technical people were highly qualified and professional. It was fascinating indeed to hear them explain the complex process of fertilizer production in a language shorn of cant.
We had a meeting with the Aonla unit head Rakesh Puri who told us he owed all his success to IFFCO MD Dr. US. Awasthi’s vision and inspiration. He recalled stories of Dr. Awasthi’s exceptional munificence and his commitment to the IFFCO workers’ welfare. Puri called Dr. Awasthi a great man in the truest sense of the term. Puri came across as a professional who deposits trust in his fellow workers, delegates authority and shrinks from indulging in micromanagement.
He says the results are wonderful. His simplicity and dedication stand out. We were also struck by his profound sense of hospitality.
But it would be remiss of me not to talk about a few other experiences that too made our stay memorable. We attended a community feast organized on the occasion of Guru Parv. This is Rakesh Puri’s idea. Dal, chawal and Aloo Gobhi offered on this occasion tasted like manna from heaven. And the music of the temple only added to the spirituality of the atmosphere. Nearly five thousand people took part in the feast.
The Aonla unit also carries out a number of social responsibilities by offering healthcare services to the people of the villages adjoining the IFFCO township, by distributing sewing machines to the poor families, helping poor school children with books, uniforms, bags, shoes and scholarships.
And last but not least, the IFFCO management has set up a sophisticated lab that helps the local farmers with testing their soil free of cost. This enables farmers to make a balanced use of fertilizers. We have returned from Aonla with unforgettable impressions etched in our memory.
