In Sangrur, demand for biogas plants gathers steam

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, August 29

Biogas plants are getting a good response as their number has reached 17,300 in Sangrur district. Residents of rural areas are keen to shun the traditional methods of cooking. During the current financial year, the authorities have set a target to install 600 plants in the district while last year, it was 400.

Highly beneficial

All villages must get biogas plants installed. Apart from gas, they also produce good quality of fertilisers for various crops. Like us, many more want to get them installed and have contacted the authorities concerned. - Lavjeet Singh, Resident

“All villages must get biogas plants installed. Apart from gas, they also produce good quality of fertilisers for various crops. Like us, many more want to get them installed and have contacted the authorities concerned,” said Lavjeet Singh, a resident of Mehlan Chownk village of Sangrur.

Some area farmers said since farmers’ inclination for organic farming had been increasing, the use of organic fertilisers produced by the plant helped in growing crops more effectively.

The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) authorities have got trained a team of experts from the Punjab Agricultural University to install plants with good-quality material.

“A plant with a capacity of 4 to 6 cubic metres produces around two cylinders of gas within a month. The total expense of installation of each plant is around Rs 35,000 while the government gives a subsidy of Rs 12,000 for each plant. The number of gas plants has been increasing in the district,” said Rajesh Bansal, senior manager of PEDA in Sangrur.

Sangrur ADC (Development) Rajinder Singh Batra said with the rise in literacy rate in rural areas, the use of biogas plants was on an all-time high in the district.

“The smoke produced by the traditional method of cooking is detrimental to health. Residents are switching to the latest techniques of cooking now,” Batra said.