From steel waste to soil wealth: Dr Sahu’s green revolution | Fusion - WeRIndia

Industrial waste often piles up unnoticed. But in Rourkela, Odisha, biotechnologist Dr Shitarashmi Sahu saw a solution hiding in plain sight.

Towering heaps of Linz-Donawitz (LD) steel slag surrounded her hometown, the toxic remnants of decades of steel production. Most saw only a threat to health and the environment.  Dr Sahu, however, saw an opportunity to create something valuable.

A PhD from NIT Rourkela, she connected her childhood experiences on her grandfather’s organic farm with the problems faced by modern farmers.

A turning point came during a two-month training under the Ministry of Agriculture, where she learned about the growing misuse of chemical fertilisers.

Her visit to a local farmer who lost his entire crop due to overuse of NPK fertiliser made the issue urgent.

With no business background, she spent three years walking college corridors, gathering knowledge and expertise. It led to the launch of Biotez Agrinovation Pvt. Ltd. in 2020.

Dr Sahu developed a five-step process to convert steel slag into safe, mineral-rich bio-fertilisers.

The technology controls toxic metals, boosts microbial activity, and balances soil pH. Her product improves soil health and increases crop yields by up to 20%.

Today, Biotez produces 2,000 tonnes of fertiliser every month, priced at ₹25–₹30 per kg.

It’s available in 1 kg, 5 kg, and 50 kg packs, and recommended at 1.5 tonnes per hectare. Over 500 farmers in Odisha now use the product.

Sunil Singh, a paddy farmer, saw a 2–3 quintal yield increase. Mango grower Laxman Lakra noted bigger, tastier fruits fetching ₹70/kg, up from ₹40. Farmers are switching from chemical inputs to this eco-friendly option.

The start-up is incubated at NIT Rourkela’s FTBI and supported by ICAR-CRRI under the SAFAR project, with funding from RKVY-RAFTAAR.

Dr Sahu’s mission is clear: reduce waste, restore soil, and revive farming. What once polluted the land now feeds it.

Through research and persistence, she turned a toxic problem into a green solution.

Image from Pxhere (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Published on February 23, 2017

Image Reference: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/820953