The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi
The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi The flock of sheeps grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi Bengaluru/Belagavi : At 10 every morning, Siddalinga Kempanna Bennarli walks through the gates of one of Karnataka ’s most sophisticated aerospace manufacturing hubs. Behind him comes his workforce: about 300 sheep. Around 12-14 shepherds bring their animals into the campus, with the combined flock numbering between 900 and 1,200 sheep and goats on different days. For Siddalinga, 44, who comes from nearby Narasingpur village and has three children, there is nothing strange about it. Spread across more than 250 acres, it is an integrated aerospace manufacturing ecosystem where more than 20 facilities bring together stages of the production chain, from closed-die forging and precision machining to surface treatment and complex aerostructure assembly. The campus includes a 10,000-tonne aerospace forging press and specialised surface-treatment capabilities approved by global aerospace manufacturers. The tech park is now home to 65,000 trees and two large ponds.
You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in Bengaluru Stay updated with the latest Bengaluru news.
“We have been told that people work on computers inside the building,” he said, pointing towards a facility that makes components for aircraft. I just didn’t expect that,” said a senior executive of an MNC. “Sheep and goats were not brought in as part of some elaborate corporate sustainability campaign,” an Aequs executive said. The sheep and goats keep grass and other vegetation under control, reducing the need for mechanical mowing over large stretches of land,” said Mahantesh Kalagouda Patil, consultant, Aequs. “It was originally created as a simple way to manage vegetation, but has become an initiative that supports safety, biodiversity and community around us,” Mahantesh said. “It reflects our belief that sustainability is most impactful when it benefits both the environment and the people who live alongside it,” Mahantesh said.
He is not carrying a laptop, wearing a safety helmet or heading for a boardroom. He carries a stick. For the next eight hours, the flock grazes across the sprawling Aequs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi, nibbling at grass around facilities that manufacture aircraft components for some of the world’s biggest aerospace companies. At 6pm, Siddalinga and his flock head home. It is an unlikely sight: sheep and goats grazing beside an industrial ecosystem that supplies companies such as Airbus, Boeing, Safran and Collins Aerospace. But at Aequs, it is neither unusual nor occasional. For visitors accustomed to the tightly controlled world of aerospace manufacturing, however, the sight can be startling. “I was pleasantly surprised to spot sheep roaming around in the global aircraft-parts manufacturing hub. The Aequs Belagavi campus is no ordinary industrial estate. Yet the sheep are there for a reason. Rather than completely shutting out shepherds as the industrial ecosystem developed, Aequs decided to allow them to continue using designated portions of the campus. Shepherds enter through designated routes and with formal gate passes, while their animals graze in open areas away from manufacturing operations. The arrangement has also acquired a practical benefit: vegetation management. “Barring the months from Feb to May, shepherds and their animals are in the tech park. The animals also help reduce dry, combustible vegetation during the hotter months, lowering fire risk and reducing the campus’s dependence on fuel-powered mowing equipment. Their droppings, meanwhile, act as natural manure and soil conditioner. Download the TOI App.
The land had traditionally been used as grazing ground by the local community even before the SEZ was established.
