KOCHI: The students of Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (RCSS) and Carborundum Universal initiated a much welcome programme by setting up portable biogas plants and vermicompost in the four divisions of Kalamassery municipality.The programme provided biogas plants to 100 families and 80 vermicompost plants to the people of Kalamassery municipality.According to the scheme the beneficiaries need to pay only Rs. 2000 for the biogas plant which originally costs Rs. 12,000. For vermicompost only Rs. 100 is needed for installation. Before the installation Rajagiri students along with their NGO wing ‘outReach’ brought the public of the 38, 39, 40 and 41 wards of Kalamassery and educated them about the use of biogas plant. They offered technical support for setting up of the plant. “The aim of the project is to produce fuel for cooking using the daily kitchen waste,” says Anthony Francis Manohar, 2nd year BSW student of RCSS. By the setting up of the plant, people now get two hours of fuel daily in their kitchen.Families where the bio gas has been installed are satisfied with it. “We now cook rice, boil water and other time-consuming dishes in the bio gas,” says Jessy Peter, resident of Industrial Estate ward South Kalamassery. The heat produced is more when compared to LPG, as a result rice is cooked fast. The LPG now runs for more than two months, adds Jessy. The slurry produced can be used as manure for plants. The residents claim that plants and trees which were barren previously have started to bear fruits and flowers after the slurry was used as manure. Another benefit is that the biogas plant is portable, and can be placed anywhere. “We have placed the plant on the terrace of our house,” adds Jessy. In the scheme along with the portable biogas plant, stoves were also provided. “People were initially reluctant about the project but when they began to use it and felt its benefits, more people wanted it to be installed,” said Joshi Varghese, Information Officer of Rajagiri College of Social Sciences. In the college a fixed model of biogas plant has been set up which gives 8 hours of biogas fuel. Students and authorities are convinced that using biogas plant is the best alternative for using the biodegradable waste efficiently. It reduces the use of LPG gas cylinders which are not affordable to the common man. It also keeps the surroundings clean. The college encourages this method for regular city-dwellers, as the biogas plant for a single house does not take much space and can be placed anywhere in the compound. In addition to these benefits, it also provides manure for the plants which could be sold in the market.
Comments
0 comment