JULIO D”SILVA
Even as Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar unveiled plans to have the transport system in Goa fuelled by bio fuel prepared from household waste, the bio plant managed by the South Goa Planning and Development Authority at its market has proved to be successful but unfortunately does not have many takers.
SGPDA in collaboration with BITS Pilani Goa campus had set up the bio-plant which was conceptualised and designed by Professor Srikant.
While initially the plant used only vegetable waste, thanks to the shredder costing around Rs. 1.6 lakhs that was gifted by CRDAI, the real estate and builders association, meat and fish waste is also used now.
The plant at present uses about 1.5 tonnes of waste every day, which is collected from the SGPDA market, cut into fine pieces through the shredder and then dumped in the digester where it is digested to release methane gas and the remaining slurry is rich fertilizer.
SGPDA used to sell the methane gas to two restaurants in the Osia commercial arcade and the gas was supplied to them through specially laid pipes. However, during the monsoons the restaurants have stopped taking the gas as they do not have much business. As a result right now the gas is just being released in the air.
“The gas can be used for illumination but the problem is it leaves behind soot which will not be acceptable to the people in present times,” said Assistant Engineer Jose Mascarenhas. Besides, SGPDA is wary of getting the required permission from Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers to commercially use the gas produced at the plant.
SGPDA Member Secretary K Ashok Kumar revealed that nearly 1.5 tonnes of gas was produced every day in the month of May by the plant. The two restaurants that were using the gas were paying Rs 2000 each per month. “We have given the results, it is now for the body to decide what to do in future and if they wish they can expand the facility as we do have enough garbage to be used in such plant,” he said.
The slurry which is a rich fertilizer was given free of cost to whoever was willing to take it and initially some farmers did take it. However, as it is a cumbersome procedure to take the slurry which also looks quite dirty, even the farmers have stopped collecting it now.
SGPDA officials revealed that they had tried to get the Agriculture Department to take the slurry but it did not really work out as the modalities were not completed. While about 1.5 tonnes of garbage is used at the bio plant every day, around 6 tonnes of garbage from the market is still sent to Sonsodo. Incidentally, waste like bones, skulls and the scales forming the jaw of big fish cannot be digested in the plant and have to be sent to Sonsodo.
What is striking about the bio plant is that one does not even realize that there is a gas producing plant at the site as it is totally fenced with bio fencing by using the glyricidia plant.
